Plymouth's Whittaker closing in on £6m Boro move

Plymouth Argyle forward Morgan Whittaker is closing in on a £6m transfer to Championship rivals Middlesbrough.

BBC Radio Tees reported on Friday that the 24-year-old was undergoing a medical ahead of a permanent move to The Riverside.

Sources have told BBC Sport that Plymouth have accepted a bid of £6m, with £2m worth of add-ons - a figure that would more than double the club's previous record transfer fee received.

Whittaker was a then-club record signing when he joined Argyle from Swansea City for £1m in 2023 after a successful loan spell.

He made the Championship Team of the Season last year after scoring 20 goals in 50 games.

But he has found the net just four times this season as Argyle have struggled at the bottom of the Championship.

He did not play in the Pilgrims' 5-0 loss to Burnley on Wednesday night. Head coach Miron Muslic said Whittaker 'didn't show up in time' for the match, despite knowing he was in the starting line-up, and he ended up watching the game from the stands.

Middlesbrough and Burnley have been in talks with the forward - Burnley had a bid of £5m plus add-ons rejected by Argyle earlier this week.

The move would see Whittaker link up once again with midfielder Finn Azaz - the pair had a fine partnership in the first half of last season before Azaz joined Boro after being recalled by Aston Villa.

The pair were part of an impressive Pilgrims side under Steven Schumacher in the first half of last season.

But following Schumacher's departure for Stoke City Whittaker's goalscoring form has dropped off - his last goal being the winner for Plymouth when they won 1-0 at Premier League Brentford in the FA Cup third round earlier this month.

Morgan Whittaker scored just three goals during Wayne Rooney's time as Plymouth Argyle head coach

'You cannot argue with his impact at Argyle' - analysis

Brent Pilnick, BBC Sport, Plymouth.

Following Whittaker's no-show on Wednesday night it was always a matter of when, rather than if the forward would leave Argyle.

While the manner of his departure might not have been the greatest - turning up so late he was dropped from the team - you cannot argue with the impact he has had at Argyle.

Since he first joined he club on loan in the summer of 2022 he has scored 34 goals, including an amazing run of 15 goals in 22 appearances between 23 September 2023 and 20 January 2024.

But since then he has found the net just eight times as his goalscoring touch has mirrored Argyle's fall down the table.

The club-record deal is huge for Plymouth, but what the Pilgrims do with that cash will be key.

Do they spend it now to try and keep a club six points from safety and without a win in 11 weeks up, or do they hang on and use it to rebuild in League One next year?