Plymouth Argyle will have Luton Town, Birmingham City regret as they face Will Jenkins Davies decision | OneFootball

Isaac Vassell went on to prove the Pilgrims wrong after being released from Home Park in his younger days

While we may be right in the midst of the winter transfer window, football clubs up and down the country will already have one eye on the summer, with players’ contracts beginning to run down, and conversations needing to be had about their future.

Plymouth Argyle will be no different in that regard, with a number of stars seeing their current deals nearing towards their end at this moment in time, with the likes of Jordan Houghton and Julio Pleguezuelo edging towards the conclusion of their time as a Pilgrim if nothing changes in the next six months.

Decisions will also have to be made regarding academy graduates who are still trying to impress the powers that be at the football club, and prove themselves worthy of another year in green to prove what they can do if given the opportunity in the first-team in the future.

Will Jenkins Davies sits firmly in that boat right now, with the forward having just a few months left on his time at Home Park as it stands, although Argyle will have the plight of Isaac Vassell in the back of their mind when they contemplate the young player’s future in the coming months.

Will Jenkins Davies shines at Torquay United as Plymouth Argyle future hangs in the balance

The feeling of uncertainty regarding his future as a Pilgrim will be nothing new to Jenkins Davies, who was in the same situation last year, before the arrival of Wayne Rooney as boss seemed to help him earn a one-year extension to his deal, when it looked for all money that he was set to leave the Theatre of Greens.

Having featured just a handful of times for the Greens during his career to date, the forward has spent much of the last two seasons on loan at Torquay United in the National League South, with Argyle legend Paul Wotton taking over duties at Plainmoor over the summer, and getting the most out of a player who has a point to prove at a crucial stage in his career.

After a slow start to his second stint with the Gulls, Jenkins Davies has been one of the standout performers for a side who currently sit top of the sixth tier, with five goals in as many games around the festive period seeing him impress his quality onto a side with lofty aspirations.

Not only is he finding the back of the net with regularity, but his overall contribution to United as an attacking force has helped them sweep past all that has come before them in recent months, as he looks a step above the level he is currently playing at.

Having extended his loan deal with their Devon neighbours until the end of the season, his performances in non-league have left plenty more questions to be asked heading into the summer, with Argyle not wanting to let a star in the making slip the net, just as they did just over a decade ago.

Plymouth Argyle won’t want to make Isaac Vassell mistake again

Jenkins Davies finds himself in a similar situation to that of Vassell in 2014, where the forward had been unable to break into the Pilgrims’ first team after emerging from the academy, and was promptly let go that summer, where he was left to fend for himself in the local non-league circuit.

That period of time can be make or break for a footballer, with the comforts of academy life firmly in the rear view mirror, and the rigours of men’s football barely being the most welcoming of places, with three points on the line and no quarter given.

But instead of feeling sorry for himself, Vassell got down to work at nearby Truro City, and went on to prove exactly what Argyle were missing out on, as he matured into his own body, and proved to be a powerhouse in the lower divisions, with the Tinners profiting from a player destined for bigger things.

Lo and behold, just two years after being let go from Home Park, Vassell was back in the EFL with Luton Town, with the Hatters seeing their new attacking force net ten times in 42 league games that season, while his explosive force up top many a fourth tier defender scrambling for cover.

In the blink of an eye, the frontman had gone from Treyew Road to St Andrew’s, as Birmingham City brought him to the Championship to prove himself against the best in the Football League, and he never looked out of place after making the step up to the second tier.

If it wasn’t for injuries, the attacker could easily be playing in one of the top divisions in the country to this day, but debilitating knee and hamstring issues saw his time with the Blues, as well as Cardiff City, cut short, but not without offering glimpses of his talent along the way.

On his day, Vassell was an unstoppable force, and while Argyle lingered in League Two, he was proving them wrong by performer at a much higher level when his body allowed, leaving the Greens wondering what might have been as they battle for their lives to avoid dropping into non-league themselves.

It proves just how hard these decisions can be for football clubs at such an early stage of a player’s career; with boys becoming men at different stages of their lives, and the body developing at different rates, leaving the hierarchy almost playing poker with a player’s potential.

With Vassell they folded on a Royal Flush, and as we head to the River with Jenkins Davies, Argyle will need to decide whether to go all in this summer, or risk someone else coming up Aces in the future.