"I believe" – Plymouth Argyle backed for ignoring Wrexham and Huddersfield transfer advances | OneFootball

It was a difficult window in many respects for Argyle, but this decision has won plaudits

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 had to battle to keep hold of their best players in the January transfer window, and one such battle they won was Ryan Hardie.

It was revealed exclusively by Football League World early in the window that both Wrexham and Huddersfield Town were ready to pay Hardie’s £2million buy-out clause.

However, the Pilgrims managed to keep hold of him despite him not starting every game this season.

We asked our Plymouth Fan Pundit, Chris, for his thoughts on whether holding on to Hardie was the right call.

Speaking to Football League World, Chris said: “Ryan Hardie has been a staple forward for Argyle for many seasons now, and his form doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon.

“Recent articles from local media suggested that he was very annoyed at the fact that he hadn't scored as many goals this season as previous and, as such, really wanted to improve.

“Not only that, not being selected for the starting line-up against West Brom was also a negative factor for him.

“However, he came out as a substitute player and was able to put in a star performance, whereby he was able to score a penalty as well as a fantastic solo effort after a fantastic cross from [Tymoteusz] Puchacz on the left wing.

“From that, I believe it was a good decision to keep him on, not only because we're short on striking ability, but also because of his ability to convert those long balls forward and to challenge defenders.”

Wasn’t the right window for Hardie to leave

There’s no denying that Hardie has not been prolific this season, netting just three goals and providing two assists in 24 Championship appearances so far.

With numbers like that, it may seem questionable to walk away from £2million for the player, but it makes some sense.

This was, of course, also the window that saw Morgan Whittaker leave the club for Middlesbrough, one of the Pilgrims’ key goal threats.

Although it hasn’t been a successful campaign in front of goal for Hardie so far, what he did against West Brom provides a snapshot of what he has in the locker.

That’s also backed up by the fact he managed to notch 12 goals last season in the Championship, a strong return as part of a struggling Plymouth side.

If new boss Miron Muslic shows some faith in the 27-year-old, there’s every chance he re-finds that form as he’s only just entering his prime years.

The former Scotland youth international has a contract running until the summer of 2026, so there may be a conversation to be had about whether to sell him in the summer or get him tied down to a fresh deal to avoid losing him on a free further down the line.

But with Whittaker departing, and the club facing another relegation battle, this midpoint in the season was not the time to be letting a goal threat like Hardie go — his game against West Brom showed exactly why he could be needed.