Michael Cooper: New Plymouth Argyle contract provides 'security' for player and club

Michael Cooper had played 31 times for the Pilgrims this season before injuring his knee

Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher says Michael Cooper's new contract gives the goalkeeper and the club more security.

Cooper, 23, has signed a one-year extension to keep him at Home Park until the summer of 2025.

The highly-rated keeper will not play against this season after undergoing knee ligament surgery last month.

"He was playing really well and attracting loads of interest from bigger clubs," Schumacher said.

"It happened at a bad time for him, but I just felt that it was important that we gave him some security and let him not worry too much about going into the last year of his contract," he told BBC Radio Devon.

"We didn't want him to go into the last year of his contract either from our point of view, so we've secured that asset.

"Michael's got a little bit more security with the term of his deal and a little bit of financial security as well, which he should be getting."

Cooper - who has been at Argyle since he was nine years old - made 121 successive league starts before his injury at Sheffield Wednesday.

And Schumacher says the club would have had to have considered selling him in the summer if other clubs registered their interest.

"You would have expected bids and we would have had to listen to those bids as he would go into the last part of his contract," he added.

"But now he's injured he won't probably be available or might be available just for the start of the season. He won't be going into the last year of his contract and hopefully he's playing in the Championship for us.

"Michael's one of those players I had conversations with as soon as I got the manager's job about 'you're our best player, you should be getting paid like the best player'.

"He and his representatives were happy carrying on the way they were and I understood that from their point of view. But I said 'whenever you want to talk, we'll talk' and we did.

"As soon as he got his injury and got his head round it and had seen the surgeon, we got him in and said 'right, come on, this contract, let's get this sorted and let's look after you' and he was pleased with it I think."

Plymouth are level on points with League One leaders Sheffield Wednesday, and five points clear of third-placed Ipswich Town, as they prepare for Saturday's trip to fourth-placed Barnsley.