Plymouth Argyle are gearing up for their return to the Championship, and they’re in need of strengthening their squad ahead of their August 5 start date.

The Pilgrims were ruthless last season as they ended on 101 points to win League One, but some of their star players are no longer contracted to the club.

Niall Ennis has moved on to Blackburn Rovers whilst James Wilson also opted to depart for Bristol Rovers – then there’s loanees such as Bali Mumba and Finn Azaz that were prominent to the club’s success.

New arrivals have already come through the door in the form of Julio Pleguezuelo and Kaine Kesler Hayden, but more are needed for head coach Steven Schumacher.

And despite the fact Argyle will have some amount of money to spend, the free agent market could be one to seriously explore – let’s look at two players currently without a club that could bolster Schumacher’s squad.

Josh Onomah

Since becoming Plymouth boss, Schumacher has almost exclusively operated with a back three and a mixture of either two central midfielders behind three attacking players or a midfield three with two strikers.

A player that could fit into both of those formations is Onomah, who has promotion-winning experience from the Championship twice with Fulham and has played the Premier League in the past.

The 26-year-old would probably be best suited in a midfield three as one of the two forward-thinking operators, and he showed in his brief time at Preston North End when he got himself fit enough to play that he has the ability in the final third to try and make a difference.

Onomah departed PNE this week after an agreement couldn’t be reached on a new contract, but if he signed for North End in the first place then Plymouth would no doubt be able to afford his wage too, and he would add the Championship experience that is missing in Schumacher’s current midfield options.

Sam Smith