Where Argyle stand with forgotten ex-record signing Michael Baidoo

Baidoo has spent all of this season on loan to Umm Salal in the Qatar Stars League and they have been covering the cost of all of his wages.

The 26-year-old attacking midfielder signed a long-term contract with the Pilgrims until the summer of 2028 when he joined them for a transfer fee of well in excess of £1 million from Swedish side Elfsborg at the start of January 2025.

Read More: Argyle do not need to sell star players amid mounting losses

Read More: Mathias Ross on Alex Mitchell, captaining Argyle and League One

The move had been in the pipeline for a while but Baidoo eventually completed his move just days after Wayne Rooney lost his job as Argyle head coach.

He went on to make just five starts and eight substitute appearances for the Pilgrims over the rest of the season and did not get any goals as he struggled to adapt to the playing style of Rooney's successor, Miron Muslic.

After Argyle's relegation from the Championship, it is understood Baidoo made it clear he did not want to play in League One and that led to his loan move to Umm Salal.

Baidoo did not hold the title of Argyle's club record signing for long as defender Maksym Talovierov joined them for a fee of around £1.5m from Austrian side LASK Linz at the end of the same month.

Berne explained during a fans' forum at Home Park last night that the two options over Baidoo for next season were that either he would be part of Tom Cleverley's Argyle squad or he would be loaned out again.

The Argyle CEO said: "Let's be honest, some players come in and their value goes up, some players come in and you buy them and it doesn't work out. That's the nature of football. We try and get more of those decisions right than wrong.

"We had Michael for a reason. We have had a number of changes since then on the managerial side of it so he has not been part of the team or the squad this year.

"We have got to work out the best thing to do for Michael and the club in the future. Either he comes back and plays or we have a similar arrangement going forward. It's really that simple.

"He's still one of our players, he's part of our club, he has been out on loan, the loan team are paying his wages and so therefore that is good for everybody.

"He gets to play, it's not a financial cost to us. Next season, maybe he's part of the team here, maybe he's in a similar (loan) arrangement, we will try and work out the best thing between both parties."

When asked by a supporter whether Baidoo would come back to Argyle, Berne replied: "We don't know is the reality.

"We have got him in the squad for next season as a player that we are paying the wages for but Tom has got to go through the rest of the squad for the players that are there.

"We have got to work out what's best for the player and best for the club. Those discussions have still got to be had yet.

"We have paid a lot of money for him and he has not been part of the squad but that's football. We have got some players we paid a certain amount for that are worth far more.

"Some players come in at this value and go down and some players come in at this value and go up. We hope to make more of the better decisions than worse ones.

"We are not paying his wages, that's the key thing at the minute. Again, we will try and work something out."

Berne added: "If he comes back he's part of the squad, if he doesn't come back he will be at another club who will be paying his wages, that's the equation."

You can read more of our Argyle stories from Plymouth Live by clicking HERE

PlymouthLive has launched a Plymouth Argyle transfer news and top stories group on WhatsApp and we want you to join us. Once you sign up for our updates, we'll send all the latest straight to your phone.

To join our community, you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select 'Join Community'.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the PlymouthLive team.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like.

To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'Exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to join our WhatsApp community.