Middlesbrough have swooped to sign Morgan Whittaker in the January transfer window from Plymouth after the striker fell out of favour under new boss Miron Muslic
Morgan Whittaker wants to thank Plymouth fans for their support – and insists he has NEVER pulled out of a match.
Whittaker has completed a £6m move to Middlesbrough but will always remain grateful to Plymouth supporters for their backing during his two years at Home Park. The 24-year-old striker also wants to set the record straight after Plymouth boss Miron Muslic accused the striker of not turning up for Wednesday night’s 5-0 defeat to Burnley.
But Whittaker, who has scored 24 goals in 72 games for Plymouth, says he was fully committed to the club, gave everything for the fans and always made himself available for selection. Whittaker was the match-winning hero of Plymouth’s FA Cup win at Brentford earlier this month and he has always enjoyed the support the fans have given him.
Whittaker spoke with Muslic on Tuesday morning ahead of the Burnley game. Muslic made it clear that he was not in his plans for the game and was not up for selection anyway. Muslic then worked on shape ahead of the Burnley game but Whittaker was not involved in that session and was told to train with the other players who had also not been selected for the squad.
That decision was taken because the club had made it clear they were ready to sell Whittaker this month amid interest from Middlesbrough and other clubs, including Burnley. Whittaker attended the Burnley game – and was seen on Sky cameras – and even happily trained on Thursday with the rest of the squad.
There was strong interest in Whittaker last summer but he stayed put and the club had said they would start negotiations over a new contract in September. That did not materialise and Plymouth again were open to offers in this window and said they would only start talks about a new deal in February if he ended up staying.
Whittaker wants to leave on good terms with the Plymouth fans and make it absolutely clear that he always gave everything for the club and never refused to play or train.
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