Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley has confirmed that midfielder Rami Al Hajj is set to leave the club.
The 23-year-old joined the Pilgrims on a three-year deal last summer from Danish club Odense for a fee of around £840,000. He scored three goals in 28 Championship appearances in his debut season at Home Park, but it’s fair to say he struggled to adapt to life at the club.
The former Heerenveen player saw his chances become increasingly limited under the stewardship of Miron Muslic. He played just six minutes of Plymouth’s final 11 games, which ultimately saw the club relegated to League One.
Cleverley Confirms Al Hajj Likely To Leave
The ex-Swedish youth international has not been a part of Cleverley’s pre-season camp in Austria, prompting speculation that his short time at the club is coming to an end. According to Plymouth Live, the 35-year-old believes Al Hajj will be ‘better suited to playing in another country’.
The gaffer provides an update on Rami Al Hajj 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/uwMZQ0ZFkT
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) July 10, 2025
Confirming the news, the new gaffer stated that it was his belief that the player wishes to explore opportunities outside of England:
“Rami looks fairly close to a move away from the club. It was pretty apparent to me when I arrived and I sat down with Rami he wanted to move away from the football club, and away from England.
“I think the qualities he has suit other countries. We are all working towards that materialising so we didn’t see it purposeful to bring Rami away with us. That’s the answer for that one.”
Plymouth kick off their pre-season campaign tomorrow against 2. Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Braunschweig. This is the first opportunity for Cleverley to assess his squad, which includes as many as nine new arrivals.
Writer’s View
Sometimes a transfer just doesn’t work out and it was clear as the season wore on that this may be one of them. Al Hajj is clearly a talented player and has shown that in his previous spells across the continent. However, the English game is a different kettle of fish and he struggled to adapt. Cleverley has been fairly brutal in his comments but he has shown that he means business as he looks for success in League One in his first season in charge.
