Charlton Star Holding Plymouth Defence Together – Former Attacker | OneFootball

Ex-Championship striker Sam Parkin is of the view that Charlton Athletic‘s loaned out star Alex Mitchell is holding up Tom Cleverley’s Plymouth Argyle defence.

Charlton signed Mitchell from Millwall last summer and the 23-year-old centre-back featured 31 times for them, but lost his spot in the starting lineup in the latter half of the season in League One.

At the start of the campaign last term he sent out a message of defiance amid Birmingham City’s attackers.

Nathan Jones brought in two new centre-backs this summer in the form of Reece Burke and Amari’i Bell, and Mitchell was loaned out to Plymouth Argyle.

Plymouth are facing a crisis in their defensive department with Kornel Szucs out for four to six weeks and Julio Pleguezuelo out of action until Christmas.

Argyle’s defence have conceded 17 goals in seven games and Mitchell has featured in their last five league matches, while helping them secure three wins.

Parkin pointed out that Cleverley is working with a patched-up defence and thinks that Charlton star Mitchell is the key that is holding up Plymouth’s backline in the absence of their two first-team centre-backs.

“There should be some goals at Home Park [against Peterborough United at the weekend], obviously a 3-2 victory for them at Luton”, Parkin said on What The EFL (34:50).

“Patched up defensively, which I think is adding to the issues.

“This is very much a new side, Argyle, and they are missing Julio Pleguezuelo and Kornel Szucs, two centre halves who get in their back three.

“So I think Alex Mitchell, on loan from Charlton Athletic, kind of holding them together in that regard, got some players short of minutes playing alongside him.”

The loan is Mitchell’s third stint in League One; before joining Charlton he spent the 2023/24 season on loan with Leyton Orient, where he made 36 appearances.

Cleverley will be hoping that the 23-year-old’s experience in League One can benefit Argyle in the long run.