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Championship duo Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers were interested in a Plymouth Argyle star, whose future has become clear amid the summer transfer window.
Plymouth Argyle suffered relegation to League One during the 2024/25 Championship campaign, and newly appointed head coach Tom Cleverley has suffered in the transfer window.
Transfer vultures have circled over Home Park this summer, after Wrexham signed Ryan Hardie and Adam Randell left Plymouth for Bristol City.
Additionally, Maksym Talovierov joined Stoke City in a £2m deal. Argyle’s top goalscorer last season, Mustapha Bundu, also departed, leaving Cleverley in fear of further potential exits.
Thankfully for Miron Muslic’s replacement, an announcement from Plymouth will silence any worries over an in-demand Argyle ace, wanted by Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers, leaving this summer.
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Plymouth Argyle’s Bali Mumba news is a blow for Middlesbrough and Blackburn
With Plymouth stripped of several standout stars this summer, Cleverley and the Green Army have been desperate to see versatile full-back Bali Mumba stay, despite sufficient Championship interest in his signature.
EFL Analysis revealed earlier in the window that Middlesbrough “liked” Mumba after observing him during the January transfer window, when Morgan Whittaker made the move to Boro.
In a further update on Mumba’s future, EFL Analysis also broke the news that Blackburn “wanted” Mumba this summer, as a potential replacement for Boro-bound Callum Brittain.
Unfortunately for both Boro and Blackburn, Plymouth’s recent announcement has appeared to point towards Mumba staying at Home Park.
Plymouth revealed on X that the former Sunderland youngster has changed shirt numbers, from 2 to 11, ahead of the 2025/26 League One campaign.
Although this does not explicitly confirm Mumba’s transfer future, it all but confirms that the 23-year-old full-back will remain at Argyle for the upcoming season.
With Mumba’s shirt number change delivering a blow to Boro and Blackburn, it could also mean that Cleverley has a different plan in mind for the Englishman this season.
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Tom Cleverley may play Bali Mumba in new role for Plymouth Argyle
Recently, Plymouth beat Torquay United 6-0 in a dominant pre-season win, after which Cleverley admitted that “everything seemed to come together.”
Mumba scored and assisted in the hammering of Torquay on Wednesday, and was also involved in the build-up to one of Joe Edwards’ goals.
Last season, former Argyle boss Muslic hailed Mumba’s versatility as “brilliant”, after the defender shone against former club Norwich City in a 2-1 win.
Muslic told the Pink Un: “I think Bali also did it very, very well as a game changer, against Watford (0-0 midweek away draw).
“He’s used to playing this position. He played, I think, most of the games as a left wing-back. He was brilliant.”
With Mumba changing from the number ‘2’, which is often associated in football with a right-back, to the number 11, which is usually reserved for more attack-minded players, this could imply not only that Mumba will stay at Argyle, but also play in a more advanced role in Cleverley’s first season at the helm.