Hibernian set to swoop for out-of-favour Plymouth Argyle player | OneFootball

Julio Pleguezuelo is a wanted man this month

Scottish Premiership outfit Hibernian want to sign Plymouth Argyle centre-back Julio Pleguezuelo in the January transfer window, according to reports.

Pleguezuelo has been at Argyle since the summer of 2023, as he signed a two-year deal from Dutch side FC Twente following four years in the Eredivisie, after he had initially broken through at Arsenal's academy and made one appearance for their senior team.

The Spaniard has been in and out of the Greens' starting eleven since he joined the club at the start of last season, and his playing time has been lessened even further this term, with just eight league starts so far, which could leave to a swift exit this month.

Hibernian set to swoop for Julio Pleguezuelo with Plymouth Argyle exit looking likely

According to journalist Alan Nixon, via Patreon, Hibernian want to sign Pleguezuelo in a bargain deal this month, with it now down to the player to decide on the move, as Argyle are willing and ready to sell him to the Edinburgh club.

Nixon claims that the Pilgrims plan to sign a couple of new players for their backline, and are prepared to trade and sell their current centre-backs to make room for those new additions.

Pleguezuelo's Home Park contract is up at the end of this season, and so it makes sense as to why Plymouth want to sell him to fetch a fee for his services, rather than let him leave for free in July.

Argyle, who hired Miron Muslic as their new head-coach on Friday, have already moved to make adjustments to their backline this month, after Lewis Gibson was sold to fellow Championship side Preston North End for a reported fee in excess of £1.5 million in the first week of the window.

Polish left-back Tymoteusz Puchacz has already arrived from German outfit Holstein Kiel, but if Pleguezuelo is to depart, centre-backs will surely be on the radar.

Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth's defensive woes have been well-documented this season, with their 53 Championship goals conceded being comfortably the worst record in the second-tier so far.

The Greens have been on the end of numerous heavy defeats, and currently sit bottom of the league standings, but the sacking of Wayne Rooney has brought about some added stability to their defence under interim boss Kevin Nancekivell, with just two goals conceded in their last three games in all competitions.

Pleguezuelo has struggled to make his own mark on their backline, hence the lack of starts and playing time, and while it may well make sense to sell him this month given his contract situation, they would really lack numbers at the back if he was to leave without a replacement.

As it stands, the 27-year-old is one of four senior players at the club who can count centre-back as their preferred position, with the likes of Victor Palsson and Brendan Galloway also each struggling for minutes so far this term.

With that said, Argyle may well be happy to sell the Spaniard this month, but new boss Muslic must make signing a new player at the heart of his defence an absolute priority in the weeks to come, if he is to leave for Hibs soon.