Plymouth Argyle have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Owen Dale on a season-long loan.
The winger has been on the fringes at Oxford United, earning just 11 appearances for the U’s last season and is yet to make a squad this season under Gary Rowett. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Wigan Athletic, scoring once and assisting once in 18 features for the Lancashire side in both League One and the FA Cup.
League One Return Expected
According to Football League World, Dale is set to head back into the third tier on another loan move and is set to head to Devon to join Plymouth Argyle. Tom Cleverley’s side have had a torrid start to the season and sit in the relegation zone after six matches, with a lack of creativity going forward being a major concern.
Dale is set to head to Home Park at a perfect time for the Pilgrims, following news that Xavier Amaechi has been sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained in training after promising performances in recent matches.
The winger has plenty of previous experience in League One, playing in the division for Oxford as part of their play-off winning side on top of Wigan, Blackpool, Portsmouth and Crewe Alexandra, where he started his career.
Other targets are being identified by Argyle ahead of the 7pm deadline, but have seemingly been handed a blow early on with a separate Football League World report suggesting that Stockport County are favourites to land target Ben Osborn.
Writers’ View
Plymouth Argyle have gone into this season desperately short in their attacking options and now have begun to act to resolve those issues. Owen Dale isn’t a standout deal to make, but will be a consistent presence when given chances. Arguably, it is too late for Argyle to make these moves with many potential targets already off the board now but overall have found some good deals in Lorent Tolaj from Port Vale and signing Dale will allow Bali Mumba to move back into his more natural full-back position.
