Pace and power but jury’s out on whether Ladapo can improve on career-best term
Apparently, Pompey and Sunderland are in talks, figures are being discussed and we’ll wait to see what happens.
They are the two teams who have been mentioned.
Brentford have a longstanding interest and it seems one or two others are waiting in the wings, too.
There’s an expectation things will move on in the next week.
Ladapo has always been in London and the south east.
Sunderland are a long way away but are, in inverted commas, a massive club, so it’s difficult to know.
He hit 18 goals in League One last season and I just can’t see him playing in League Two next term.
Plymouth have obviously got Ryan Lowe as their new manager and a transfer fee of around £500,000 could go quite a long way to rebuilding his squad.
I think Argyle fans would be of the opinion that figure is on the skinny side.
But you’re talking about a side that’s now in League Two.
Ladapo had one good season last year but before that hadn’t really been a
goalscorer. I don’t know for sure but I think any deal would, of course, include add-ons, sell-on clauses and things like that.
So if you talk about £500,000 with add-ons, then that would be a fair amount, I’d have thought.
He primarily played as the main striker in a 4-2-3-1 last season, so fits the Kenny Jackett mould.
Plymouth obviously had Graham Carey and Ruben Lameiras out wide and in behind, so he can play in that. They tried playing two up front at times. It didn’t really work but Ladapo is big enough and he’s quick enough.
I don’t see why he couldn’t fit into that system, too. He did okay in the air but pace and power are his key attributes.
Carey and Lameiras could find the pass and because of his physical build, Ladapo could go shoulder-to-shoulder with centre-backs but also have the pace to get beyond them.
His return for a team that got relegated is pretty good but does that translate to him being good enough for the Championship?
Well, it’s a big step up but he made a massive improvement last season, so who’s to say he couldn’t do so again. Freddie Ladapo hit 18 goals for relegated Plymouth last season