“I’m really happy here, I love it here and I’m playing all the time, and if I got the chance to move it would be to the higher level”- Morgan Whittaker finally speaks out on at Plymouth Argyle future and failed summer transfer exit as winger confirms he is happy at Home Park but open doors to future move

Morgan Whittaker has declared he is ‘really happy’ at Plymouth Argyle after a summer of at times intense transfer speculation, including bids for him from Championship rivals Burnley which were turned down by the Home Park club.

The talented 23-year-old attacker has his focus on playing for the Pilgrims, although he has admitted he wants to progress his career by getting to the highest level he possibly can. That is understandable given the tremendous success he has had at Argyle, both in an initial loan spell from Swansea City and then after completing a joint club record £1 million transfer ahead of what turned out to be a stand-out 2023/24 season for him.

It led to Italian club Lazio making an unsuccessful bid for Whittaker last January with Rangers and Burnley also making strong moves to sign him at the end of the summer transfer window, but on both occasions he remained at Argyle.

So all the talk about his future this summer was nothing new to him. Whittaker said: “I have been in this situation before so I know how to handle it and I found ways it worked for me, and that’s just focusing on what I can do.

“I think the difference to when I was at Swansea is I knew I was going to play here. In my eyes it was a win win because I love it here and I’m playing all the time, and if I got the chance to move it would be to the higher level I want to be getting to. I didn’t see it as a bad position to be in.”

It got to the stage with Burnley’s interest in Whittaker that Argyle took the view late on transfer deadline day there was not enough time to find an adequate replacement for arguably their most important player and they made it clear he was not for sale, which finally brought an end to the summer of speculation about him.

Whittaker said: “There was stuff in the media that came out and I’m a footballer so I want to be playing as high as I possibly can so when teams like Burnley etc come in you are not going to turn it away and say no.

“Obviously, it’s what I want to be doing, progressing my career, but at the same time I’m really happy here, playing all the time and learning from a really good manager and ex-player in Wayne (Rooney).”

On why he liked being at Argyle so much, Whittaker said: “The love you get from the fans and how comfortable I am with the players. I think it shows. That’s why I’m happy here because it ticks every box in my eyes. The career I have had, it has been difficult with ups and downs and Plymouth have given me the platform to show what I can do.”

He added: “In football it’s hard to find a good relationship with everyone and everything to do with the club and that’s what I have found here. As a footballer you would be stupid not to want to play at the highest level you possibly can, and after the season I had (in 2023/24) I thought it was fair I had the opportunity, but football is football and it hasn’t happened so my focus is here.”

And with the summer transfer speculation now behind him, Whittaker said: “It’s nice not to be on my phone all the time!”