Plymouth Argyle want £5 million for Luke Jephcott amid interest from a whole host of Championship clubs including Derby County and Nottingham Forest, as reported by LancsLive.
With both of the East Midland giants enduring a season to forget, a new centre-forward is a must at the City Ground and Pride Park this summer.
Derby have scored just 30 goals in 41 Championship games after all – the joint-worst tally in the division. Nottingham Forest are hardly prolific by comparison, netting just four more in the same number of matches.
But, with Plymouth determined to hang onto their highly-rated Wales U21 international, Jephcott will not come cheap.
The question is, will Derby, Forest or any other second-tier club really pay the £5 million required for a striker who has never played higher than League One level?
A striker who, despite scoring 18 times this season, is now without a goal in his last 15 games?
The Sun reported in February that up to seven Championship teams had shown an interest in Jephcott, with Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday among them.
It was the Athletic, at around the same time, who suggested that Nottingham Forest were also keen on Plymouth’s academy graduate.
“Luke doesn’t complicate things, a bit like Harry Kane if you like,” his former Pilgrims coach Sean McCarthy told Plymouth Live recently.
“I know there are a number of bigger clubs watching him and he can certainly play Championship.”
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