Exclusive: Plymouth Argyle facing Oxford United transfer threat in Charlton Athletic race | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle have been joined by Oxford United in the race to sign Charlton Athletic's Alex Mitchell permanently, Football League World understands

Plymouth Argyle will be hoping to achieve promotion back to the Championship at the second time of asking in the 2026/27 League One campaign after narrowly missing out on a top-six finish under Tom Cleverley, but as the Green Army bid to get deals over the line throughout the summer transfer window, Football League World can exclusively reveal that they've now been joined in the race for a particularly-notable transfer target by Oxford United.

It was very much a season of two halves at Home Park, with Plymouth having spent much of the campaign's opening quarters looking nervously towards battling against relegation following a dismal start to life back in the third-tier before enjoying dramatic improvement and surging up the table.

The Pilgrims established themselves among the division's form teams during the closing stages of the term and lost just one of their remaining 16 fixtures, although a dramatic 3-2 victory over already-relegated Northampton Town on the final day - in which Cleverley's side successfully overturned a two-goal deficit to take all three points at Sixfields Stadium - ultimately proved to be futile as Stevenage's own last-grasp triumph against Wigan Athletic wrapped up the remaining play-off position and ensured a second season of League One football in this corner of the Devon divide.

A crucial summer transfer window awaits Plymouth, who already face the threat of losing a series of prized assets as Cleverley looks to build a squad capable of achieving promotion at the second attempt.

Talismanic striking pair Bim Pepple and Lorent Tolaj, having scored 18 and 21 goals apiece in remarkable debut campaigns for the Green Army, have both been subjected to widespread transfer interest in recent times, which Argyle will be seeking to resist while bolstering the side at Cleverley's disposal, but the ex-Manchester United midfielder could now be facing a fresh blow in the market.

Oxford United join Plymouth Argyle in Alex Mitchell, Charlton Athletic transfer race

The future of Alex Mitchell has been subjected to speculation for some time following the defender's impressive loan stint at Plymouth from Charlton Athletic in the season just gone.

It's no secret that Argyle hold designs on returning Mitchell to Home Park on a permanent basis, which Cleverley himself has already confirmed his intentions of if a deal can be brokered with the Addicks ahead of the 24-year-old's final year under contract in South London.

Mitchell, who won the Plymouth's Supporters' Player of the Season award despite the goalscoring brilliance of Pepple and Tolaj, also broke his silence on a potential return to the club at the end of April, revealing that he loved his time at Argyle and described such a move as a "no-brainer".

That doesn't mean a deal is guaranteed to be ironed out, though, and Football League World can now exclusively reveal a potential twist to Plymouth's transfer plans.

FLW understands that the Green Army are facing fresh competition in the form of League One rivals Oxford United, who have joined the race for Mitchell's signature and are eyeing up a move of their own after suffering relegation back to the third-tier from the Championship.

Oxford, much like Plymouth, are keen to explore the terms of a permanent switch owing to Mitchell's contractual status at the Valley, which will surely implore Charlton to sanction a full-time exit as opposed to sending the highly-rated defender out on loan once more.

Under the management of Matt Bloomfield, the U's will be expected to compete for automatic promotion in the 2026/27 season and while Plymouth will perhaps hold similar ambitions, the two sides are set to battle off the pitch in the coming weeks as they each bid to seal Mitchell's services.

The Millwall academy product's arrival in Devon felt like something of a coup after he made 31 appearances to help Charlton return to the Championship via the play-offs in the 2024/25 campaign and he picked up where he left off under Cleverley, featuring in all but six of Plymouth's League One fixtures, scoring on three occasions and establishing himself as a mainstay at the heart of the side's backline.

Mitchell has proven to be a top performer at third-tier level in recent seasons and it's no surprise to see the imposing centre-back receiving increasing interest as we edge closer to the summer window, where a hotly-contested battle between Oxford and Plymouth could just be poised to take place.