Has Luke Jephcott got a future at Plymouth Argyle? Here’s how he has done so far at Swindon | OneFootball

Having made cameo appearances during the 2018/19 season as a teenager, Luke Jephcott really burst onto the scene for Plymouth Argyle under Ryan Lowe when the Pilgrims were plying their trade in League Two.

A loan stint in non-league with Truro City, which saw him hit the back of the net five times, prompted Lowe to give the striker a chance in the fourth tier, and before the EFL season was shut down due to Covid-19, Jephcott repaid the faith with seven goals in 14 outings.

Jephcott only scored in five of those matches, with two braces in his first two league appearances of the campaign, but when Argyle were promoted to League One via points per game, the forward continued to find the back of the net with 16 goals in his first 22 appearances.

Naturally, Championship clubs would start to sniff around but despite being able to hold onto their talisman, Plymouth would then see Jephcott go on a goalscoring drought by going the final 19 outings of the season without scoring.

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It was a similar story for Jephcott in 2021-22 – he had flurries of good form but didn’t show it often enough, and under new boss Steven Schumacher he was sometimes utilised from the bench in the second half of the campaign, but also started some matches.

Despite scoring 10 times in 40 outings last season, it wasn’t that much of a shock to see him depart on loan for Swindon Town of League Two on transfer deadline day this past summer, especially as he had featured from the bench in just two of Plymouth’s opening six matches of the season.

How is the 22-year-old getting on in his new home though? Let’s take a look…

More often than not, Jephcott has been a central part of Scott Lindsey’s attack at the County Ground as a central striker with two supporting wide players, and it’s going well so far.

Jephcott has netted five league goals in 12 outings, as well as notching a singular assist as well, and that run includes three strikes in his last four matches played.

In terms of his other stats, 46.4 per cent of Jephcott’s shots in League Two have been on target so far this season, which is a decent enough tally but probably needs to improve if he is going to extend his tally.

He’s still not one to be winning the ball in the air though, as Wyscout’s number say that he has won just 18.4 per cent of his aerial duels with defenders this season.

It was definitely the right decision to let Jephcott depart Home Park for regular game-time, especially seeing as Plymouth are flying high with the other options they have at the summit of League One, but does he have a future with the club?

Well, considering an optional clause was inserted in the loan deal to potentially make Jephcott’s move to the Robins permanently for a fixed price, then that would suggest Plymouth are planning on life without him from next season onwards.

Considering he was being chased by Championship outfits 18 months ago, it seems strange that Jephcott is now in League Two, but building himself back up at Swindon could be the making of him – especially if that deal is made permanent.