Plymouth Argyle

Andrew Aloia
BBC Sport, East Midlands

Image source, Rex Features

Will Alassana Jatta stay with Notts County, or will be be swept off during the transfer window and into a higher division?

That is the question that was put to Magpies boss Stuart Maynard on Thursday after their leading scorer was linked with Championship sides Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth, as well as League One club Bolton Wanderers.

Reports say that Plymouth have had a £750,000 bid turned down for the 26-year-old Gambian, who has scored 15 goals in all competitions for the League Two Magpies this season.

None of the transfer speculation around the striker has come as a surprise to Maynard.

"You are going to get interest from a lot of clubs, from the Championship and abroad, when a player like AJ comes in and performs to the level he has," he told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"It's where we are at as a football club now. If we want success and to keep going through the leagues and keep being at the top of the division to complete, then we need to make sure that when we sign players they we will then have interest from other clubs because they will be performing that well."

But will Notts be able to hold out and keep Jatta at Meadow Lane to help in their quest for promotion?

"He is our player at the minute, but everyone does have a value," Maynard said.

"And that's the biggest thing, I can't say to you yes or no.

"He loves it at the football club, he comes in and works so hard every day and he will continue to do that."

You can listen to more from Maynard and the the interest in Jatta by clicking here.

The Championship's bottom side Plymouth Argyle visit promotion contenders Sunderland on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Argyle - five points adrift of second-bottom Luton Town and six points from safety - have not registered a single league win since their 1-0 victory over Portsmouth in November.

Hosts Sunderland are having a better time as of late, fourth in the table and winning three of their past four league games (W3 D1).

• Sunderland have lost seven of their past 10 league games against Plymouth in the second tier (W3 L7), though did win this fixture 3-1 last season.

• After winning the reverse fixture 3-2 in September, Plymouth will be looking to complete a first league double over Sunderland since the 1991-92 season.

• Sunderland are unbeaten across their past 13 home league games (W9 D4), last enjoying a longer run at the Stadium of Light between May 2018 and April 2019 (21 games).

• Plymouth have failed to win any of their past 16 away league games (D3 L13), scoring three goals in total. The Pilgrims last endured a longer winless away run between March and December 1991 (18 games).

• Eliezer Mayenda has been involved in four goals in his past four league games (2 goals, 2 assists), with these being worth seven points to Sunderland.

Notts County striker Alassana Jatta is attracting attention with Plymouth said to have seen a £750,000 bid turned down, while Portsmouth and Bolton are also interested. (The Guardian, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip page.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Arygle head coach Miron Muslic spoke to BBC Sport following their 5-0 thumping by Burnley.

"A tough one for sure," he said.

"I take full responsibility for our performance and I take also full responsibility for the result.

"The first goal we just gave this goal away on a silver plate for the opponent due to an individual mistake.

"But it's football and it can happen, but the reaction was then the team gave up in this moment, not really the desire to fight until the end.

"You go in to half-time with a five-goal difference and you know the game is over.

"The pressure was full on us, the crowd was on us, fully deserved, and it takes a lot of courage to get out of the locker room and continue playing for another 45 minutes.

"I demanded this courage, not to change the result, because that was simply impossible, but if you can have this courage to face this and face this harsh and tough reality that might help us for next couple of weeks and months."

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport England

Image source, Getty Images

Plymouth Argyle have added Adin Osmanbasic and Eddie Lattimore to their coaching staff.

Osmanbasic and Lattimore, who have joined as assistant head coach and head of athletic performance respectively, both worked with boss Miron Muslic at Cercle Bruges.

Lattimore previously worked on the coaching staff at Swansea City and Reading.

"He [Lattimore] was my head of physical department over the past two and a half years in Belgium and we had the highest physical output in Belgium for the past three years and one of the highest physical outputs throughout Europe," Muslic said.

"He is a top, top guy and just an expert in his department.

"The good thing about Eddie is he is also a coach so I can use him actually off the pitch and also on the pitch, so he will give us big, big value."

Plymouth Argyle are five points adrift from safety at the bottom of the Championship following a 1-0 defeat at home to QPR on Saturday, which extended their winless run in the league to 13 games (D6 L7).

New boss Miron Muslic is still searching for his first league win with the Pilgrims, who welcome promotion-chasing Burnley to Home Park.

Clarets goalkeeper James Trafford saved two penalty kicks from Wilson Isidor in the closing stages of their last game against Sunderland to secure a goalless draw and extend their unbeaten run to 14 games (W8 D6).

Scott Parker's side also boast a formidable defensive record, keeping 18 clean sheets in 27 games, conceding nine goals so far.

• Plymouth have lost one of their past eight home EFL games against Burnley (W4 D3 L1), though that defeat did come in the most recent such meeting in March 2009 (1-2).

• Burnley have won each of their past two league games against Plymouth and will be looking to win three successive such games for the first time since October 1937.

• Plymouth have won two of their 18 midweek league games since their promotion to the Championship in 2023 (W2 D6 L10), though 10 of those 12 points have come at Home Park (W2 D4 L3).

• Burnley are unbeaten in each of their past seven away league games (W5 D2), keeping a clean sheet in six of those matches.

• Burnley's Zian Flemming has netted three goals in his past four away league appearances in the Championship, while he both scored and assisted in his only previous league game at Home Park with Millwall in October 2023.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Burnley have made a new bid for Plymouth forward Morgan Whittaker.

The offer, a package of around £5m plus add-ons, falls well below Argyle's valuation of the player. It is the second approach Burnley have made in this transfer window.

Burnley failed with two attempts to sign the 24-year-old in the summer and have returned this window, although money is tight at Turf Moor and they are unlikely to offer as much this time.

The Clarets are third in the Championship and travel to bottom side Plymouth on Wednesday but have struggled in the final third all season.

Only 12th-placed QPR have scored fewer than Burnley's 31 goals this term among the teams in the top half of the second tier.

Middlesbrough are also reportedly interested in Whittaker as a potential replacement for Emmanuel Latte Lath as they remain in talks with Atlanta United, who want to bring the striker to the MLS.

Whittaker has scored four goals in 22 games for Plymouth - including the winner in their shock 1-0 win at Brentford in the FA Cup this month.

The former Derby County and Swansea City forward has scored 24 times in 103 games since joining Plymouth from the Swans, initially on loan, in 2022.

Lazio made an offer for Whittaker in last year's January transfer window but he stayed at Home Park to score 20 goals last season.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle boss Miron Muslic did not hide his disappointment after suffering his first defeat since taking charge of the team.

The Pilgrims were beaten 1-0 at home by QPR and only managed one effort on target during the match.

"I'm very disappointed because simply we lacked the desire to win the duels. Those are the basics," Muslic told BBC Radio Devon.

"We had some injury doubts the last couple of days, but I don't think this was the problem and had to adapt the system because you cannot play with a back three if you only have two centre-backs.

"But I don't think this was the problem. We just lacked physicality and the difference between our players and the physicality of QPR was just immense in everything - defensively, offensively, set-plays, throw-ins.

"We lacked that desire to win duels and if you can't win duels, you don't have a chance."

Plymouth Argyle and Stoke City have cooled their interest in a loan move for Wolves midfielder Luke Cundle after competition from Bristol City, Swansea and Millwall. (The 72, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Friday's gossip here.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle head coach Miron Muslic says Morgan Whittaker is focused on helping the club, rather than leaving it.

The highly-rated 24-year-old forward has drawn interest in the last few transfer windows.

Burnley and Hull City have been linked with a bid for Whittaker this month, with the former Derby County and Swansea City man scoring a fine goal to knock Premier League side Brentford out of the FA Cup last week.

But Muslic, who replaced Wayne Rooney as head coach last Friday, says while Whittaker is ambitious, he is focused on helping the club out of the Championship relegation zone.

"It's not about how much I want to keep him at the club, it's also about what's the best for Morgan," he said.

"He's a fantastic football player. He is the player who can have one individual moment and decide the game for us. That's quality. Normally those guys cost a lot of money.

"I think the Brentford goal, that's what you get with Morgan, he can just finish the game for you or kill your opponent.

"That makes him super-interesting, I think, for a lot of other clubs and I think he's ambitious enough to also realise that he wants to take the next step.

"I like players who have ambitions and we will see then what's the best for Morgan and what's the best for us.

"Right now I consider him fully, fully as an Argyle player. Everything I saw so far over the last three or four or five days - very professional.

"One talk between us wasn't about moving or a transfer, it was about being ambitious, achieving goals, what we can achieve right now."

Miron Muslic takes charge of his second home game as Plymouth boss in the space of four days as QPR head to Home Park on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 GMT).

Argyle remain bottom, effectively four points from safety because of their goal difference, and are now 11 behind QPR, who have risen up to 13th off the back of a run of 21 points from their past 10 matches.

• Plymouth Argyle have lost just one of their past 14 league games against QPR since December 2004 (W4 D9), though six of their last seven meetings with the London side have ended in draws (L1).

• QPR have failed to win any of their past eight away league games against Argyle (D4 L4), scoring exactly one goal in each of their last seven visits.

• Plymouth have failed to win any of their past six league games against sides from London (D3 L3), scoring just two goals across those matches.

• Since the beginning of December only Leeds United (18) have won more points in the Championship than Queens Park Rangers (17), who have won five of eight matches in that period (D2 L1), after winning just two of their first 18 league matches this season (D9 L7).

• Michael Frey has scored in his past two league appearances and could be the first QPR player to net in three straight Championship outings since Chris Willock in December 2023; five of the Swiss striker's six Championship goals have come at home, however.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth Argyle striker Ryan Hardie is fit to play against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

The 27-year-old Scot has missed the past three games with a shoulder injury he picked up on New Year's Day.

Argyle have played Michael Baidoo up front in their past two matches, with Hardie and Muhamed Tijani out and Andre Gray having left the club.

"He did everything had to do yesterday," Argyle head coach Miron Muslic said.

"It was a big, big session and he did everything and we got the green light.

"He's selectable and I have some plans for him."

Meanwhile, centre-back Kornel Szucs is still two weeks from fitness, while fellow defender Brendan Galloway is out after picking up a quadricep injury at the end of the 1-1 draw with Oxford United on Tuesday night.

Goalkeeper Conor Hazard missed Tuesday's game with injury and is unlikely to feature against QPR.

"It's impossible for us to think only short term, because if we think only game-by-game we will lose players for weeks and months, and this is something we clearly cannot afford," Muslic added on the Northern Ireland goalkeeper.

"He's a very important player for us, so I will use him only if he is able to play 100% and if there are no risks for later.

"It's not about one or two games it's about staying up after the last game."