Plymouth Argyle plot move to sign player Celtic sold for £250k | OneFootball

Mitchel Frame is on the hunt for regular first-team football away from Aberdeen and could be on his way to Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle were electric going forward last season in League One, but their defensive displays, especially in the first half of the season, let them down massively.

The Pilgrims conceded the second-most out of the teams that finished in the top half and also shipped more than both Exeter City and Port Vale, who were both relegated. On the flip side, only the league's top two scored more.

Tom Cleverley has a task on his hands to keep that attacking quality, with Lorent Tolaj and Bim Pepple both the subject of Championship interest already this summer. But the Argyle boss also has a challenge to improve the defence, too.

Wes Harding has arrived permanently after his loan spell last year, Alex Hartridge has joined from Burton Albion, and defensive midfielder Harvey White will help shore things up.

With the likes of Connor Hazard and Luca Ashby-Hammond leaving, too, it's expected there'll be a new starting goalkeeper at Home Park, too.

In the meantime, though, Plymouth aren't done with bolstering their backline and have their eyes on a new, promising left-back to help improve it further ahead of what is hoped to be a successful campaign at Home Park.

Plymouth Argyle monitor Mitchel Frame

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According to Anthony Joseph, Aberdeen left-back Mitchel Frame is being monitored by Plymouth, ahead of what is expected to be a campaign out on loan for the 20-year-old full-back.

Frame's debut campaign at the Pittodrie Stadium didn't get started until late January, when he was somewhat surprisingly drafted into the starting eleven in a 6-2 drubbing of Livingston, in which he registered an assist.

The 20-year-old would then make five more starts between then and the end of the regular season, and a further three in the relegation group when the league split, but it's likely that he won't be building on those appearances at his current club next season.

Aberdeen spent £250,000 on Frame last summer from divisional rivals Celtic, and he was eyed immediately as one for the future. According to Joseph, the Dons are considering where the best place for the 20-year-old would be to put him in a good position to make an impact with them in the future.

Plymouth are monitoring the situation, but Swedish side BK Hacken and Polish outfit Rakow have both made enquiries for Frame.

If Aberdeen see a switch to a fellow British club, albeit all the way down in Devon, as a better place for their exciting full-back to develop than in the Swedish or Polish top flights, then Argyle could potentially swoop to help strengthen their left-back position.

Plymouth Argyle need solid full-backs if Tom Cleverley is to continue back-four plans

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Plymouth's upturn in form in the second half of last season coincided with Tom Cleverley's switch from the back three he played from September to December to a back four, which he adopted for the rest of the year.

Last season, Harding was trusted to play at left-back, despite being a centre-back by trade, as Jack McKenzie struggled with fitness after arriving from, coincidentally, Aberdeen, in the summer.

The 26-year-old didn't make his debut until late January after spending the first half of the season with knee tendinitis and shin splints. In the end, he started just six league games in his first campaign at Home Park.

McKenzie is a very good asset for Plymouth if he can stay fit, but with the injury concerns hanging above his head, Argyle could do with another starting-quality left back, with Harding resuming his position in the centre of the back four.

Frame could find himself with plenty of minutes in League One next season if he joined Argyle and McKenzie remained on the sidelines for extended periods.

If he stays fit, though, he'd provide great competition and depth on the left side of the back four if Tom Cleverley continues to use that formation across the whole of next season.