Wayne Rooney thought he hit Plymouth Argyle transfer jackpot - it didn’t last long | OneFootball

Andre Gray started strong upon signing for Plymouth Argyle, but his time with the Pilgrims didn't last long

Heading into the 2024/25 Championship campaign, Plymouth Argyle were looking to solidify their status in the English second tier, having narrowly survived relegation the previous campaign.

After securing a 21st-place finish in the Championship during the 2023/24 season, Plymouth were looking to cement themselves as a Championship club and looked to explore the European markets to gain an edge on the surrounding sides.

The likes of Muhamed Tijani joined on loan from Slavia Prague, Ibrahim Cissoko on loan from Toulouse, Victor Palsson on a permanent deal from KAS Eupen, and Rami Al Hajj on a permanent deal from Odense.

It signified a shift in transfer policy from the Pilgrims, who had rarely ever ventured outside the British Isles for transfer targets previously.

With former Derby County and Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney at the helm, there was a sense of optimism surrounding Home Park, though after just two wins in their opening eight games, it quickly became apparent that more was needed, as Rooney delved into the free agent market to improve his squad's forward ranks.

Andre Gray joined Plymouth Argyle on a free transfer to bolster Wayne Rooney's attacking options

With the aforementioned Tijani suffering an injury that ruled the Nigerian out until the new year, a new option up top was required, and Rooney sought to look through the free agent market for potential options and landed on 33-year-old Andre Gray.

Gray, prior to Plymouth, had made over 100 appearances in the Premier League for Burnley and Watford, as well as over 100 in the Championship with Brentford and Queens Park Rangers, and joined the Pilgrims as another option up top.

A fully-fledged Jamaican international, Gray had recently spent time in Greece and Saudi Arabia before becoming a free agent, and made his debut for the Devon-based outfit in a 1-0 away defeat to Millwall as a second-half substitute.

In his second appearance for the club, he was once again introduced as a substitute in the second half, replacing Al-Hajj, and scoring Plymouth's second goal as Rooney's side came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3.

Three games without a goal then led to a brace against former club Watford, with the second coming as a 96th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Home Park.

That would be about as good as it got for Grey on the South Coast, with the 33-year-old starting just three more games before his time with the club came to an end in January, with Rooney being replaced by Miron Muslic in the dugout.

Gray promptly returned to Turkey with Fatih Karagumruk in the second tier and would help the club to achieve promotion to the top flight that year, whilst Plymouth would ultimately suffer relegation back to League One in 23rd place.

In total, Gray scored three goals and grabbed one assist in 13 games for the Pilgrims, certainly not the worst record of all time, though his brief stint yielded few positive results, with his time at Home Park proving to be a forgetful one.

Andre Grey's time at Plymouth fell flat in comparison to the rest of his career

In comparison to the rest of his career, Grey's time at Plymouth fell seriously flat.

Having once signed for Watford for upwards of £18.5 million from Burnley back in the summer of 2017, the Shrewsbury Town academy graduate once hit 23 goals and grabbed eight assists for the Clarets on their way to promotion in 2016.

Although he'd never reached a double-digit tally in the top flight, he certainly proved to be a useful player at that level, and is more remembered for his time with Burnley and Watford than that of Plymouth.

With League One strugglers, Port Vale, his next club after Fatih Karagumruk, Gray looks to wind down his career in the lower leagues, just where his footballing journey started.

His time in Devon may have been unremarkable, though fortunately for Grey, few will remember him for his time in green.