Maksym Talovierov claim issued after Plymouth Argyle exit - he would've been "too good" for League One | OneFootball

FLW's Plymouth Argyle fan pundit has weighed in on whether the team is missing Maksym Talovierov this season

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Plymouth Argyle underwent a lot of change in their first-team squad last summer following their relegation from the Championship, which has somewhat contributed to their indifferent start to the 2025-26 season.

The Pilgrims changed manager, with Tom Cleverley arriving as Miron Muslic’s replacement following his departure to Schalke, and the ex-Watford boss oversaw a busy transfer window.

A total of 12 new permanent signings were made, with another three fresh faces arriving on loan, with the club aiming for promotion back to the second tier straight away.

So many new players were needed when 12 players also departed on a permanent basis for pastures new, including key figures like Maksym Talovierov, Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu.

Maksym Talovierov, Plymouth Argyle exit verdict issued - they're really missing him

When asked if someone like Talovierov is missed in the team at the moment, FLW’s Plymouth fan pundit Luke Hodge claimed that losing him was always going to be noticeable given what he added to the side last year.

He praised the Ukrainian centre-back for the role he played in the Pilgrims’ upturn in form under Muslic last season.

“Absolutely, we miss Max Talovierov,” Hodge told Football League World.

“Someone of that quality, a Ukraine international, along with Nikola Katic as well last season in the Championship.

“We were dead and buried, and it wasn’t until Muslic came along and brought those two players into the team and we nearly ended up in the great escape and staying up.

“And that was predominantly down to Talovierov and Katic playing in the back three and shoring up the defence, and obviously we had the likes of Bundu and Hardie doing their thing up the other end of the pitch.

“So, to be able to keep hold of Talovierov dropping down into League One, Ukrainian international, we all knew it wasn’t going to happen and he was going to be going elsewhere as soon as he got the right deal, which was absolutely fine.”

However, Hodge is positive about Cleverley’s decision to move to a back three against Stockport County, and he highlighted the defensive options in the squad as potentially good enough to improve as the campaign goes on.

“Tom Cleverley, different style completely to Muslic as well, likes to play a 4-2-3-1, likes ball-players centre-halves in his setup and it wasn’t until Saturday against Stockport where he eventually changed it to a back three, which worked really well," Hodge added.

“So, would Talovierov be playing if he was still with us now? Absolutely, he would’ve been.

“He’s too good a player to not be playing, especially in League One, as is Katic.

“But, with the signing of Alex Mitchell on loan from Charlton, he’s been a breath of fresh air, he’s been superb since he’s come along, playing really well.

“He’s got the young lad [Mathias] Ross from Galatasaray, who has come as well, who is starting to gain fitness now, he hasn’t played much but looks like a good acquisition.

“And with the likes of [Brendan] Galloway and [Kornel] Szucs and Brendan Wiredu, who played centre-half on Saturday and played really well.

“Although we’ve shipped in 15 goals in seven games, I think we’re going to get stronger defensively as the season progresses and once the players start to gel.”

Plymouth have endured a difficult start to the campaign, but given the early stages they can still feel confident of clawing back the gap to the teams fighting at the top end of the table, particularly with their 4-2 win over Stockport.

Plymouth Argyle need time for new players to gel in order to become promotion challengers

Plymouth overhauled their first-team squad over the summer, so it was always likely to take time for everything to gel under Cleverley.

The tactical switch against Stockport showed a lot of promise, and it was a strong result to get against a top side in the division - one that finished third last season and have strengthened since on paper.

Losing players of Talovierov’s quality was obviously a blow, but the Devon outfit still have good defensive options to choose from.

There’s no need to panic just yet at Home Park, as there’s plenty of time for everything to click into place and climb the League One table.