Plymouth sign Charlton defender Mitchell on loan

Alex Mitchell has not featured in the Championship for Charlton Athletic this season

Plymouth Argyle have signed Charlton Athletic centre-back Alex Mitchell on a season-long loan.

The 23-year-old comes in to bolster a Pilgrims defence that has conceded 10 goals in their opening four games in all competitions this season - losing all three games in League One.

Mitchell played 31 times for the Addicks in their promotion-winning campaign in League One last season after moving to the club a year ago from Millwall.

He is eligible to play in Tuesday's League One game against Leyton Orient and is likely to start, with Brendan Wiredu suspended and Julio Pleguezuelo injured.

"He's a really important signing for us," Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley told BBC Radio Devon.

"Obviously, we know why we have lost the three league games, and that is because we're conceding too many goals.

"He's going to help in that department. We've conceded from four set-pieces - he'll improve that overnight - and we've conceded four from direct play. Sometimes it's just the basics of football and heading it and clearing it, and Alex will bring us that.

"But he's more than that, he had a big part in Charlton's promotion year last year and that's important for me that he comes from a winning environment.

"He's had recent history of success and winning and been expected to win, and the more people that we can get from those kind of places the better, and that was an important part of why we signed Alex as well."

Cleverley, who is also looking to sign a first-choice striker, could yet add to his central-defensive options at Home Park despite the arrival of Mitchell.

"Potentially there might be another one because that gives us the scope then to see [Brendan] Galloway at left-back when we need that kind of game profile, and also Kornel [Szucs] at right-back when we need that kind of profile," he added.

"So I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another centre-back this window."