MIKE COOPER

Full Name: Michael John Cooper

Born: 08 October 1999

Came from: Trainee   Went to: Sheffield United

First game: 17 October 2017   Last game: 04 May 2024

Appearances: 161 (159/2)   Goals: 0

Born in Exeter, Cooper played in the under-11 side for West Hill Wasps, a junior club near Ottery St Mary. He attended St Peter’s School in Lympstone, East Devon, before moving to Plymouth College. Whilst in Exeter he joined Argyle’s centre of excellence in the city before joining the club’s academy in Plymouth at the age of 11.

Cooper was a young member of Argyle's successful Milk Cup squad in 2014, a summer youth tournament in Northern Ireland, and started in all fixtures. He made his debut for the under-18s at just 15 and started in ten fixtures of the successful South West Youth Alliance and Merit League 1 campaigns of 2015-16.

In the summer of 2016, Cooper was awarded an apprenticeship at Home Park and in the following season was invited to an England goalkeeping training camp, and also had exposure to first team training with goalkeeping coach Rhys Wilmot.

In Argyle's difficult start to the 2017-18 League One season, injuries to Luke McCormick and Robbert te Loeke meant that Cooper sat on the first team bench for several games as backup to the deputising Kyle Letheren, and his debut arrived unexpectedly. During a match at Blackburn Rovers, Letheren suffered an injury just before half-time and, not surprisingly, did not appear for the second half.

In his place, the fresh-faced Cooper made his Football League debut, less than two weeks after his 18th birthday and whilst still an apprentice. He became Argyle's fourth keeper and 26th player used in a challenging season that was just 17 games long at the time. The second half of that match saw Argyle defending deep and under heavy pressure, with Cooper a vital part of a rearguard action and making two excellent late saves to ensure the point. At full-time the young keeper's name was sung rousingly by the 415-strong Green Army at Ewood Park. Certainly a debut to remember.

Returning to more conventional duties as Argyle bought in Remi Matthews to cover for Letheren's injury, Cooper went on to be a key member of the Argyle youth team who reached the last 16 of the FA Youth Cup, making crucial saves in victories over Manchester City and Burnley in the 3rd and 4th rounds of the competition.

In December 2019 he signed a new deal until the end of the 2021-22 season. In September 2020 he started the first match of the COVID-19 crowd-reduced season, playing against Queens Park Rangers in the first round of the League Cup. Argyle won 3-2, and after a commanding performance from Cooper, he held onto the starting position for that season.

In April 2021 he agreed a new long-term deal, signing on until 2024, and was voted Young Player of the Season as well as coming second in the senior vote to squad vice-captain, Joe Edwards. Rumours of a big money move and interest from elsewhere starting to generate.

The following season he received the League One Golden Glove (jointly with Wycombe's David Stockdale - himself a former Pilgrim) for keeping the most clean sheets, at 18 across 46 league games. He went one better than the previous season by winning the senior Player of the Season, and was named in the League One Team of the Year as Argyle won promotion to the Championship under Steven Schumacher.

Cooper's place in the League One Team of the Year was particularly impressive because his season had been curtailed in February 2022, following a robust aerial challenge in a 1-0 defeat at Hillsborough, which resulted in what was later diagnosed as an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. As a result, Callum Burton saw out of the season in exemplary style for Argyle as they clinched the League One title with 101 points.

With Burton released at the end of that season and Argyle having signed Conor Hazard, Cooper missed the first part of the Championship season but did eventually return when he was back to full fitness, making a further 19 appearances. However, with Argyle having secured their Championship survival, following the departure of Ian Foster and its ramifications, attention then turned to Cooper, with his contract nearly up. The appointment of Wayne Rooney sparked warm overtures but sadly, Cooper was not for turning, and once the season started without his selection, the writing seemed on the wall.

After weeks of rumours, in mid-August 2024 it was announced that Cooper had signed for fellow Championship side Sheffield United, who had just been relegated from the Premier League. In the era of undisclosed fees, it was reported that the move was for a significant fee, believed to be £2m, potentially rising to £4m or more with add-ons. This was thought to include a percentage of the profit from any future sell-on fee, payments linked to Sheffield United's promotion back to the Premier League, and any international call-ups.

The initial fee was not the untold riches that some in the Green Army felt Cooper's vast potential was worth, but considering his injury and that he would soon be out of contract, they were consoled by the sums that could accrue.