Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic is considering deploying the versatile Freddie Issaka ahead of a crucial Championship clash with Portsmouth tomorrow night.
The 42-year-old was named as Wayne Rooney’s successor in January and sparked an upturn in results which had given them a real chance at avoiding relegation. He also masterminded an incredible 1-0 win over Premier League champions-elect Liverpool in the FA Cup.
Recent form has seen Plymouth slip back to the bottom of the table though. They now sit six points from safety with just 10 games remaining following a 3-0 home defeat against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Issaka Set For Chance?
At just 18-years-old, Freddie Issaka has already made 32 senior appearances for the Devon-based side. He was used regularly during Rooney’s stint and scored his first goal for the club against Preston North End in October.
Capable of playing on the left and right of both the midfield and the front three, he has seen his chances limited under Muslic, where he is yet to make an outing. This looks set to change though, with the head coach hinting that he could utilise the youngster in the season run in. Speaking to Plymouth Live, he said:
“This (Argyle’s relegation battle) is just a very difficult situation for young players because some of our experienced players, it’s a demanding and struggling situation for them, so are we going to expect (Tegan) Finn to turn the things over for us, or Caleb (Roberts), or Issaka?
“These are very good lads, these are our boys, they are on a good way and we try to develop them best possible and also to protect them, but this is the future of Argyle and we are all happy with the profiles of them.
“Speaking especially about Freddie, that’s a player with a weapon. It’s something we miss just purely if you look at our profiles offensively, his weapon is pace and I think we can use this.”
Writer’s View
Plymouth are now heading into the stage of the season where they need to try something different to provide a spark. Issaka is a player who has shown glimpses of this during his fledgling career with the club and he is widely tipped to become a regular at Home Park in the coming seasons. Muslic may have been right to protect the youngsters from the relegation battle up until this point, but they now have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This could be the ideal opportunity to draft them in.
