Wayne Rooney will keep exploring his alternatives in an effort to place Morgan Whittaker in the most advantageous places for Plymouth Argyle to score goals.

Rooney has mostly deployed the 23-year-old in a wide right offensive role this season, just as he did last season, whether it was under Ian Foster, Steven Schumacher, Neil Dewsnip, or Kevin Nancekivell as interim managers.

Whittaker recorded 19 goals in 2023–2024. Although they have helped Argyle get four more points, including the game-winning goal in their 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Home Park last month, he only has three for the current campaign.

The ‘number 10 role’ has been problematic for the Pilgrims ever since Aston Villa recalled Finn Azaz from his loan to sell him to Middlesbrough in January. Some members of the Green Army are questioning whether Whittaker could be a better alternative considering his skill with the ball and his shooting abilities after a number of players were tested there with little to no success.

Rooney stated: “Morgan has played in the number 10 position during possession in a few of games this season. We have rotated because we have pushed Joe Edwards forward and Darko (Gyabi) has remained at right-back.

“Whenever possible, you want your best players to strive to score goals from the best locations on the pitch. With Morgan, Rami (Al Hajj), and other people, we have tried various approaches.

“On occasion, you also need to consider the adversary and their setup. We’ll let Morgan play inside if we think it’s appropriate. We’ll consider other options whether it’s appropriate for him to play on the left or out wide.”

Whittaker has scored 32 goals for Argyle, many of which have come from cutting in from the right side of the pitch and using his left foot to score. He made a couple attempts to do so during Tuesday night’s 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at home, but he never truly threatened to score.

Rooney stated: “He was a tad unsteady on a few of his attempts at shots. He has given us some significant goals.

The one thing I would never take away from him is his ability to come inside and shoot because he has an amazing left foot. He is a player who scores goals and has really significant moments for us.

“He flees and celebrates when he gets it right. You can look at it and say, “He hasn’t scored, but I think we don’t shoot enough,” when he doesn’t get it correctly. This is what I told the players.

“We don’t cross the ball enough and we don’t get enough shots off from the edge of the box so I would never take that away from any of my attacking players.”

Whittaker will make his comeback to the team where he started his career when

Before joining Swansea City in February 2021, Whittaker, a graduate of Derby’s system, made five starts and twenty-seven substitute appearances for the Rams.

“Morgan has returned a few times previously,” Rooney stated. When I managed Derby County, he scored a header while playing for Swansea. He went on to say: “There is no denying that he will receive some stick. That should be a breeze for him, in my opinion.