Plymouth Argyle are 'sitting on a goldmine' as triple transfer exit fear raised | OneFootball

FLW's Plymouth Argyle fan pundit has given his verdict on whether the club could make big money on Lorent Tolaj, Aribim Pepple and Owen Oseni.

It is shaping up to be an exciting end to the season for Plymouth Argyle in League One.

After a disappointing first half of the season following their relegation from the Championship, Plymouth sat in the relegation zone as recently as early January, but a stunning upturn in form since the turn of the year has seen them emerge as serious promotion contenders.

The Pilgrims continued their rise with a 3-0 victory over Barnsley at Oakwell on Easter Monday, and they are now seventh in the table, just two points behind sixth-placed Stevenage, although Alex Revell's side have a game in hand.

It is difficult to name any Argyle players who have not improved significantly in recent months, but the form of strikers Lorent Tolaj, Aribim Pepple and Owen Oseni has been a major contributing factor to the turnaround in fortunes of the Devon outfit.

Tolaj made the move to Home Park from Port Vale in the summer in a £1.2 million deal, while Pepple joined from Luton Town for an initial fee of an initial fee of £250,000, potentially rising to £600,000, and Oseni arrived from St Mirren for just £60,000.

All three players have now reached double figures in goals for the season, with Tolaj leading Plymouth's scoring charts with 18 goals, while Pepple and Oseni have netted 15 and 10 goals respectively, leading to fears among supporters that they could be on the radar of other clubs this summer.

Plymouth Argyle tipped to make big profit on Lorent Tolaj, Aribim Pepple and Owen Oseni

When asked for his thoughts on whether the trio could make the club big money in the future, FLW's Plymouth Argyle fan pundit Luke Hodge claimed that the Pilgrims could be set for some substantial windfalls, particularly from Tolaj's sale, but he admitted that he is hopeful that at least two of the trio will stay at Home Park next season.

"I think we're potentially sitting on a goldmine with Tolaj out of the three, although they have all been exceptional," Luke told FLW.

"Tolaj was always the one player who had a bit about him, and that was already known within the EFL and around Europe.

"He's continued his trajectory from Port Vale coming over to us at Argyle, and by all accounts, there is no release clause in his contract, which means Argyle are sat really nicely with him as he still has a couple of years left on his contract.

"There's huge potential for Tolaj to be able to go for pretty decent money.

"The only problem we have with him is that there's going to be a lot of clubs after him, and he's very ambitious, so I just hope it doesn't get messy if he wants to go and Argyle aren't happy with the money that has been offered.

"Hopefully there'll be a few clubs in for him and it'll be a bit of a bidding war, so that if he does leave, we can get some decent money for him.

"In terms of Pepple, the rumours are that he does have a release clause.

"He and Oseni have both been excellent.

"They were both bought with development in mind, and, to be honest, they've come a long way in a short space of time.

"In the first part of the season, everyone was poor, not just them, but since the turn of the year, Pepple and Oseni have been excellent, especially when Tolaj has been out.

"They look hungry, and they look really good together.

"A goldmine? Potentially, but Argyle have always struggled when it comes to getting relatively good prices for players.

"A lot of clubs know that we're not particularly well off, and there's a lot of player power now, so if the player really wants to leave, unfortunately they tend to get their way.

"I just hope that we can definitely keep hold of two of those three next year, and I think we'll be in good stead.

"At the end of the day, these players have got to appreciate that Argyle have given them the minutes to perform.

"Their improvements have been at Argyle under Tom Cleverley and the coaching staff, so hopefully they are really happy here, which they seem to be, and will be happy to continue their stay at Argyle for another season or two to keep their improvement and trajectory going."

Celtic speculation may just be the start for Plymouth Argyle and Tom Cleverley

The summer transfer window may still be a couple of months away, but speculation over the future of some of Plymouth's stars has already started, with reports emerging in February that Scottish giants Celtic are plotting a double swoop for Tolaj and Pepple.

Of course, much will depend on which division the Pilgrims are playing in next season, but the fact that a club the size of Celtic are circling suggests that they will face a serious battle to hold on to their talented strikers this summer, with Tolaj in particular likely to be the subject of significant interest.

Argyle would be devastated to lose Tolaj, but his valuation has increased hugely this season, and given that he is only 24 years of age, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he could attract seven-figure bids, while Pepple and Oseni could also generate a sizeable profit.