New Plymouth Argyle, Lorent Tolaj transfer update emerges - Sheffield United, Stoke City & Derby County must pounce | OneFootball

The Swiss striker could move to the Championship in the upcoming summer window

A major transfer race is expected to break out this summer for Plymouth Argyle’s in‑demand striker Lorent Tolaj.

The 24-year-old bagged his 19th goal of the season across all competitions last Saturday against Exeter City, in what was his second start after being out injured for over a month. In his first start back against Barnsley on the 6th April, he managed one goal and an assist.

Back in February, it was reported that Glasgow giants Celtic held interest in Tolaj and his Argyle strike partner Bim Pepple - as per The Daily Mail, but now there's been a fresh twist reported elsewhere.

Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke revealed via X that "a number" of teams in the second tier and abroad are plotting a move for Tolaj.

While it remains unclear which Championship clubs are actually in the mix for him - FLW takes a look at three who simply must act to try and poach the forward from Plymouth.

1 ? ? Sheffield United

Chris Wilder has made no secret of his plans for 'a lot of changes' at Sheffield United this summer.

The 58-year-old told BBC Sheffield, "I’m going to make a lot of changes in the summer, no doubt about it. The owners know it, the chief executive knows it, they know."

Said changes could well impact the South Yorkshire club's striker situation, making a possible move for Lorent Tolaj plausible.

Danny Ings, despite the late winner against Hull City, has managed just two goals all season on a one-year deal and features mostly from the bench. In fact, the ex-West Ham United striker has only started five league games all season.

Tyrese Campbell was ruled out for the rest of the season, at least, at the start of April - and hasn't featured since the 11th March. Pair this with an out-of-sorts Tom Cannon and a 32-year-old Patrick Bamford - Blades' strike force does need some work doing to it in the summer.

Considering the fact that Argyle's head coach, Tom Cleverley, has previously called Tolaj an "all-rounder" and admitted, "he's someone who's on a real quick upward trajectory through the leagues of English football" - it could be the 'fresh start' signing United need in the summer.

2 ? ? Stoke City

This season, Stoke City have faced somewhat of a nightmare scenario up top - which Tolaj could more than sort out a bit.

As per StokeonTrentLive, Slovakian striker Robert Bozenik is 'hoping' to feature in training this week. This means he could be in contention to play for the first time since his shoulder injury on New Year's Day - but his form before that wasn't great.

The free transfer from Portuguese outfit Boavista only has one goal in 21 games for the Potters, and it's not like his fellow striker's are helping him out. Yes, Sam Gallagher's making his own return from injury, but his record of two goals in 16 this season is equally uninspiring.

On-loan Manchester City prospect Divin Mubama hasn't scored since a hat-trick in November last year, and has been left out of the side by Mark Robins in recent games.

You'd also argue that the reported £4.8m fee to make Milan Smit's loan move permanent could perhaps be better used elsewhere after the Go Ahead Eagles man has also struggled to impose himself in the Championship.

Tolaj would inject proven scoring pedigree into a forward line in Staffordshire that's been starved of any sort of consistency. It'd also rile up Port Vale fans a fair bit as well.

3 ? ? Derby County

Just like Stoke - if not a lot worse - Derby County have also been hammered by injuries, which have put their playoff chances in real jeopardy.

Although the following two forward players aren't exactly out-and-out strikers, Patrick Agyemang's serious Achilles tear will sideline him for nine months, while Rhian Brewster underwent season-ending knee surgery after picking up damage against Birmingham City.

Brewster usually played out wide under head coach John Eustace this season, and the same still goes for the on-loan Ben Brereton Diaz - even though both can play up top.

This means the only 'real' strikers at Derby are Carlton Morris and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen, who have both had their own injury battles this season in black and white.

On working with Morris, Salvesen told BBC Radio Derby back in November, "Honestly, after Carlton came here, it's been fantastic and he is an inspiration for me with the way he works off the pitch and the way he has played since he has come here. He has been unbelievable. I will work hard every day and do my best to get better."

Lars is obviously seen as a bench option under Eustace when fit, due to only starting two league games all season, which were both in the same month as when he made those comments about Morris.

So, you could imagine how big of an impact Morris would have on Lorent Tolaj if the Argyle star was to potentially move to the East Midlands this summer. Yes, it'd also give Eustace some much-needed depth in attack, but you can't rule out the possibility of Lars wanting more game time elsewhere - so the Rams might need to sign another number nine this summer anyway.