Burnley have made an improved offer of £5 million plus add-ons for Plymouth Argyle star Morgan Whittaker, according to BBC Sport.
The Clarets are long-term admirers of the 24-year-old. They were desperate to bring him to Turf Moor in the summer, seeing two loan with an obligation to buy offers rejected.
Whittaker remains hot property in the Championship. His form for Plymouth has attracted a number of potential suitors during his time at Home Park. Despite the Pilgrims’ struggles, he has scored 33 goals in 103 appearances since joining, initially on loan, in 2022.
He hit a career best 20 goals in all competitions last season, leading to him winning the club’s Player of the Year. The winger was also selected in the 2023/24 Championship Team of the Season.
Burnley Respond To Championship Rivals
Middlesbrough also launched a bid of £5 million plus add-ons yesterday, which has prompted Burnley to respond. As per Plymouth Live, it is claimed that Boro’s bid remains under Plymouth’s valuation.
The former Lincoln City loanee has seen a drop in form this season, although did spend much of December on the sidelines. He did remind everyone of his obvious talent earlier this month though by netting the only goal of the game in his team’s stunning FA Cup third round win over Brentford.
Burnley boss Scott Parker was asked about the situation last week. Whilst refusing to give names, he did reveal that the Lancashire outfit were working on potential deals:
“To be fair, it’s never something that I will discuss. I think I’ve been consistent with that and I’ll stick to that really.
“We’ll be looking around and we’ll see that regarding individual names, (but) it’s not something that I want to comment on.”
Writer’s View
With relegation to League One looking increasingly likely with every passing game for Plymouth, it does seem inevitable that Whittaker’s time at Home Park is coming to an end. He remains the Pilgrims’ prized asset and certainly the one that will attract the largest fee. He still has over two years remaining on his current deal and Plymouth seem to be steadfast in their view in that they won’t be forced to undersell. £5 million plus add-ons is a rather large bid. It can’t be far off their valuation of the player.
