Plymouth Argyle secure transfer deal for 7-cap international | OneFootball

League One table-toppers Plymouth Argyle have moved to bolster their squad ahead of the start of 2023 by securing a deal for New Zealand international striker Ben Waine.

In October, it was reported that Waine’s now former club Wellington Phoenix of the Australian A-League had turned down a six-figure offer from the Pilgrims, with the New Zealanders determined to hold on to the 21-year-old.

However they have been seemingly powerless to stop Waine from moving to England, a country in which he holds citizenship for, as they have now agreed a deal with Steven Schumacher’s side.

Waine made his senior debut for Phoenix in August 2018 as a 17-year-old but his big breakthrough was in the 2020-21 campaign, where he scored seven times in 22 outings in the A-League.

Quiz: Have any of these 25 ex-Plymouth Argyle players ever played for a Yorkshire based team?

1 of 25

Yannick Bolasie?

Yes No

He followed that up with six goals last season and after netting three times in his opening eight outings of the current campaign, Waine will now make the move across the world to Devon.

Speaking of his new recruit, Schumacher told Plymouth’s official website: “He is a player I have been tracking for over a year now, and we made an attempt in the summer to try and bring him to Home Park.

“I want to thank Andrew Parkinson, Simon Hallett and the board for continuing the pursuit, and allowing us the opportunity to buy Ben and give him his chance to play in England.

“Ben is a young player who has a tremendous attitude and a willingness to learn and improve.

“Hopefully he can help score the goals that will maintain our push for promotion, and I’m sure all of the Green Army will be excited to see him play.”

Waine has been capped seven times by New Zealand, making his debut in March 2022 against Papua New Guinea, which saw him score the winning goal.

The Verdict

Waine is coming into a club full of confidence and who are gunning for Championship football, and with that he will be joining a competitive strike-force.

Ryan Hardie, Niall Ennis, Morgan Whittaker and Sam Cosgrove have all been very effective this season but only two of those are tied down on a permanent contract.

Therefore, it was necessary to get Waine over the line – potentially before other clubs started to come in for him as well – and they’ve managed to do just that.

This is a step in the right direction for Argyle and it’s another string in their promotion-chasing bow.