MORGAN WHITTAKER

Full Name: Morgan Reece Whittaker

Born: 07 January 2001

1. Came from: Swansea City   Went to: Swansea City

1. First game: 30 July 2022   Last game: 01 January 2023

2. Came from: Swansea City   Went to:

2. First game: 05 August 2023   Last game: 09 November 2024

Appearances: 96 (83/13)   Goals: 32

Whittaker, 21, became the summer of 2022's fifth new face and third season-long loanee at Home Park, or so it seemed, when he signed ten days before the start of the new campaign.

Born in Derby, Whittaker developed through his hometown club's academy system to win honours for England at all levels from under 16 to 20. His 2018-19 season for Derby's junior sides was particularly impressive: a combined total of 37 games for the under-18 and under-23 sides and not only scoring 24 goals but also providing 16 assists.

Whittaker made his Derby County first-team debut in August 2019, aged 18; the first of 32 appearances for the Rams, all but five from the bench. Five months after his senior bow, he was rewarded with a new three-and-a-half-year contract, but a little over a year later, on the last day of the January 2021 transfer window, he signed a four-and-half-year deal with Swansea City for a reported fee of £700,000.

Still only 20, he netted five times in 22 appearances in his first 12 months in South Wales (as at Derby, mostly from the bench), including an FA Cup goal against Manchester City on his debut and a remarkable 11-minute hat-trick against Argyle in the second round of the EFL Cup in August 2021. Incidentally, that hat-trick was the first by a Swansea player since ex-Pilgrim Scott Sinclair bagged three for them ten years before.

Whittaker's hat-trick would never have happened if a planned season-long loan to Lincoln City had gone ahead just a few weeks before, but injuries at the Liberty Stadium delayed the move until the January 2022 transfer window. His time with the Imps was a big success; he scored five times in 20 League One appearances, this time mostly in the starting line-up, and it was this regular selection that the 21-year-old attacker was eager to build on when he arrived at Home Park.

Whittaker's impressive skills made an instant impression on the Home Park faithful, and his nine goals in the first half of the 2022-23 season helped his side to sit seven points clear of the top of the League One (tier 3) table by New Year's Day. However, bad news came the following day: Swansea recalled the talented forward to play a part in their Championship campaign, although, frustratingly for him, he only made two starts for his parent club in the rest of the campaign.

Despite his absence in the second half of the season, Argyle won promotion as champions, and Whittaker's contribution sparked calls for his return. The good news came in mid-July 2023 when he was signed on a permanent deal for a fee widely reported to make him the Pilgrims' first £1,000,000 player.