Five Argyle players attract interest

PLYMOUTH Argyle manager Paul Sturrock has received inquiries from other clubs about five of his players.

Sturrock would not name the clubs or the players concerned, but talks are set to continue in some cases.

Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee has already admitted he is interested in taking Pilgrims' left-back Jim Paterson on a season-long loan.

Sturrock (pictured right) is under pressure to reduce the size of his squad because of financial constraints at Home Park.

But, at the same time, he still hopes to add a couple of players before the Pilgrims' pre-season training camp in Scotland from July 19 to 24.

Argyle will be based at the University of Stirling as they prepare for the new Championship campaign.

Sturrock said: "In the last two days I have had phone calls from certain managers about the availability of certain players, for permanent deals and for loans.

"It's encouraging, but some of the deals don't suit us. There are a lot of discussions to go on yet with certain football clubs, managers and agents."

In some cases, Argyle are being asked to loan out a player to another club and continue to pay part their wages.

Sturrock said: "Some of them aren't good deals. They aren't benefiting Plymouth Argyle."

Argyle's only new recruit of the close season so far has been Wales international midfielder Carl Fletcher.

He was signed on a two-year contract after being released by Crystal Palace.

But Sturrock has been busy sounding out other targets, with Southampton striker Bradley Wright-Phillips visiting Home Park for talks earlier this week.

Wright-Phillips, who is also attracting interest from Palace, will be a free agent as from July 1.

Palace's out-of-contract striker James Scowcroft has also been linked with the Pilgrims.

As usual, Sturrock would not comment on what he describes as 'transfer speculation'.

But he did say: "I have talked to several players about whether they would like to come to Plymouth Argyle.

"We have had a couple of players down and they have had a look at the whole place.

"At the same time, I'm working very hard trying to move some of our players on.

"As I have said all along, I don't want experienced players playing reserve team football. They should all be playing first team football.

"So the quicker some of these players move on the better."

Sturrock wants to ensure all his transfer activity is completed well before the start of the new season on August 8.

Last term, he added defenders Chris Barker and Craig Cathcart to his squad only 24 hours before the Championship kick-off.

"I don't want to be caught out like I was last year and finish up signing two players on the Friday before the first game," said the Pilgrims' boss.

"I would like to think that before we go to Scotland we will have brought in a couple of players, but also moved four or five players on.

"That, in an ideal world, is what we are looking to do."

Sturrock admitted a situation could arise where he would try to bring in a player before any others had moved on from the Pilgrims.

He said: "I would have to go to the board of directors, and I think they are experienced enough to appreciate that we want the right people to come to this football club.

"We know the areas we want to target and if they become available then I would have to have a discussion with the board to determine what the story is."