Plymouth Argyle must beat Notts County to Burnley transfer after Lorent Tolaj blow | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle should sign Burnley forward Michael Mellon this summer, beating interest from Notts County

It's been close to two weeks now since Lorent Tolaj continued his natural progression up the EFL, leaving Plymouth Argyle for Bristol City.

The 24-year-old will have played in the National League, League Two, League One and the Championship in consecutive seasons when he makes his league debut for the Robins, who spent in excess of £4 million to secure his services this summer.

All eyes are now on who Plymouth will bring in to replace their talisman, though, and those are big shoes to fill. Tolaj was a bright spark throughout the dire opening to last season at Home Park, and excelled even further once the Pilgrims turned their form around in December.

The Swissman ended the campaign with 18 league goals in just 31 appearances. At Plymouth, he scored 21 times in 35 games in all competitions, and whoever does replace him will have lofty expectations to shoulder a good chunk of that scoring load.

Plymouth Argyle and Notts County have their sights set on Burnley's Michael Mellon

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According to Alan Nixon, Plymouth are interested in bringing in 22-year-old Burnley frontman Michael Mellon, who could finally be leaving Turf Moor permanently this summer.

Mellon is yet to make a senior appearance for the Clarets, having come through their academy, spending time on loan at Dundee, Stockport County, Bradford City and, most recently, Oldham Athletic last season.

The 22-year-old, son of Oldham boss Micky Mellon, was in the midst of a breakout year at Boundary Park last season, netting 10 times in 18 games in all competitions for the Latics before a hamstring injury curtailed his season on Boxing Day.

Nixon reports that Argyle are rivalling fellow third-tier outfit Notts County for his signature. The newly-promoted Magpies are also needing to replace their talisman this summer, after Alassana Jatta left for Portuguese top-flight side Casa Pia.

Plymouth Live have stated that Mellon isn't Plymouth's main target, but they should definitely be pushing to bring him in over Notts.

Michael Mellon could follow Lorent Tolaj blueprint at Plymouth Argyle

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Plymouth have part of the £4 million fee gained from the Tolaj sale to spend on improving the squad and buying a replacement before the transfer window closes on September 1.

Perhaps Argyle fans would be expecting a more established third-tier threat coming through the door at Home Park with that money, but Mellon has the potential to follow in the Swissman's footsteps and really establish himself on the League One stage.

Before last season, the only third-tier football that Tolaj played in his career came via an uneventful loan spell at Cambridge United from Brighton and Hove Albion back in the 2021/22 campaign. He played fewer than 60 minutes in four bench appearances.

However, he established himself as a good goalscorer in the leagues below and then proved he could make the step-up to the third tier while at Plymouth, and Mellon could easily do the same.

The 22-year-old netted seven times in 16 League Two games last season, averaging 0.56 goals per 90 minutes. Keeping that level up throughout 46 games would have seen him net 25 times. Even if that dipped to around 18-20, it would still have been a brilliant campaign if he didn't suffer that hamstring injury.

In comparison, Tolaj scored just 14 times for Port Vale in their 2024/25 League Two promotion-winning term, and that warranted Argyle activating his £1.2 million release clause late last summer.

Bringing in Michael Mellon would indicate that Bim Pepple will be given the main scoring mantle this season

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Additionally, with Bim Pepple currently staying at Plymouth this summer, Argyle will need to be careful that whoever they bring in doesn't take away opportunities for the Canadian, who has more than earned them following his performances last season.

Granted, Cleverley played with two up top throughout their impressive run in 2026, and Pepple still got his goals alongside Tolaj, but the Swissman was definitely still the main talisman when the two played together.

The 23-year-old broke into the side when Tolaj went down with injury in late December, and finished the campaign with 16 goals in just 23 starts. Having him as the main starting option throughout next season could easily see him push 20 goals or more.

Plymouth need a striker replacement, but arguably, they need someone to replace Pepple's role, rather than Tolaj's, with the Canadian set to become the main option up top now that the Swiss frontman has left.

Mellon's a young and exciting frontman, but is unproven at this level, and he wouldn't be expected to hit 20 goals next season. He could operate in Pepple's shadow pretty comfortably but can still get his fair share of goals alongside him.

Argyle will face competition to bring him to Home Park this summer, and there's potential that a side like Notts County could be a more attractive destination for the Burnley striker. But he could play an important role in a promotion-chasing side at Plymouth, and they need to push for him because of that.