"Would love" - Finn Azaz named in Plymouth Argyle player return debate | OneFootball

We asked our Argyle fan pundit for one ex-player that he would bring back to the club

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...

Middlesbrough playmaker Finn Azaz has been identified as the ideal ex-Plymouth Argyle player to bring back into Wayne Rooney's current Championship squad.

Azaz currently plies his trade at the Riverside Stadium, but was poached by Boro off the back of his impressive loan spells at Argyle in both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons.

The attacking midfielder moved to Plymouth on loan from Aston Villa in the summer of 2022, and was a key part of the Pilgrims' League One title winning campaign under Steven Schumacher in his first season at Home Park, so signed a contract extension with Villa and re-joined Argyle ahead of their return to the second-tier.

He was just as impressive in the Championship for the Greens, but only lasted a half-season back in Devon as he was recalled back to Villa in January to be sold to Boro for around £2.5 million in a real blow to Plymouth's season.

Azaz has continued to shine in the second-tier under Michael Carrick on Teesside, and looks set to play an important role in their promotion push this season, with a decent career at the top level surely set to follow in the years to come.

Finn Azaz named in Plymouth Argyle player return debate

Azaz had an instant impact at Home Park, with three goals and an assist in his first five league games, which came as no surprise given his impressive loan exploits at Newport County in the previous season.

He suffered an ankle injury midway through the League One campaign, which slowed down the second-half of his season, but he still ended with eight goals and 10 assists in 39 games in all competitions and did more than enough to earn another loan spell in the Championship for 2023/24.

Azaz was again Argyle's key man, this time in the second-tier, and he notched seven goals and five assists in 26 appearances for the first six months of the season, which alerted the attention of other clubs to the possibility of signing him permanently, with his Aston Villa contract set to expire at the end of the campaign.

Boro forked out £2.5m for his services after he was recalled back to Villa Park, and FLW's resident Greens fan pundit, Chris, picked out Azaz as the player that he would resign for Argyle, after we asked him for one former player that he would bring back to the current squad if given the opportunity.

“I’m sure that many Argyle fans would have a particular player that they would love to bring back to the club, if given the opportunity,” Chris told FLW.

“Some may pick the recently-departed Michael Cooper, who went to Sheffield United in the summer for a reported two million pounds plus add-ons.

“Personally, I’d love to bring back one of my favourite attacking midfielders of recent seasons, and that would be the Irish international Finn Azaz.

“Finn played a pivotal role in our League One promotion-winning season, as well as helping us to some crucial victories in the Championship last season, helping us to stay in the league.

“With that in mind, he was soon swept up by Middlesbrough, and has so far proved to be a positive playmaker with their team.

“He’s a player that offered some great link-up play between the midfield and the attack, as well as scoring some fantastic finishes, particularly his last goal for the club before he left for Boro.

“I would love to see him in an Argyle shirt again.

“However, I find that very unlikely due to how well he is doing at Middlesbrough, as well as the fee they would demand to bring him back.”

Azaz' recent form shows how important he would be to Argyle right now

There are few Championship players more in-form than Azaz right now, and his standout showings at Boro so far this term would be invaluable to Argyle if he was still a part of their squad.

Nearly a year on from his exit, no Argyle player has registered more goals and assists in the second-tier in that time than the Irish international, and his 12 goal contributions in the league this season are only bettered by Norwich City's Borja Sainz, with 13.

The 24-year-old is proving to be one of the most decisive and clinical final-third operators in the EFL, and while a Premier League move is surely on the horizon soon, if he does not reach the top-flight with Boro, Argyle will be rueing Villa's decision to recall him in January.

Wayne Rooney's side are currently 19th in the Championship, and do not have an attack-minded midfielder similar to Azaz within their ranks right now, and could struggle to create going forward given Ibrahim Cissoko's injury woes.

There are few teams in the second-tier that would not sign Azaz if given the opportunity, and while Plymouth supporters will be pleased that he spent some time developing at Home Park, the fact that they are not still benefitting from his clear talents will sting, particularly as he is still impressing at a fellow Championship side.