Wayne Rooney told Plymouth Argyle supporters 2024 recruit would "excite" - they will wish they saw more | OneFootball

The winger joined the Pilgrims in the summer from Toulouse on loan. However, he struggled at Home Park and never lived up to expectations.

The 2024/25 campaign has not been kind to Plymouth Argyle, and their stay in the Championship looks as though it is set to come to an end after just two years back in the second tier.

It was a season that started with a lot of fanfare, as Wayne Rooney was announced as the new head coach following their survival in 2023/24, with the England and Manchester United legend taking on his fourth job in management.

The 39-year-old has previously taken charge of Birmingham City, DC United and Derby County, and had only been sacked by Blues just four months before taking charge at Home Park as the West Midlands outfit eventually tasted relegation to League One.

Despite his poor record, Plymouth were willing to take the risk of bringing in such a big name and work started early in the summer to bring in some new faces to help stay in the Championship for another year, including the arrival of a promising young Dutch ace on loan.

Rooney was wrong with Ibrahim Cissoko, Plymouth prediction

Ibrahim Cissoko joined the Pilgrims in July from French club Toulouse on loan until the end of the season, and he arrived with a huge amount of expectation.

Rooney told supporters what the winger could bring to the team, and it only increased the hype around the signing.

Speaking to the club's website, the now former Plymouth head coach said: "We are extremely pleased that Ibrahim has agreed to join us for the season. He is a quick, athletic and technical winger who will add strength to our forward options.

"He is a player that will excite Argyle fans and I know for a fact they will enjoy watching him play.

"Ibrahim has joined the squad here in Spain and will immediately get to work as we look to implement our ideas on how we want the team to play going forward."

Cissoko made his league debut against Sheffield Wednesday just a month after joining, but it proved to be a tough first match as the Greens were beaten 4-0 away from home in an extremely disappointing first showing.

But, just a week later he got off the mark for Plymouth, as they held Hull City to a 1-1 draw at Home Park, and it was their form in Devon that ensured that they stayed outside the bottom three throughout the opening months.

Cissoko's time at Plymouth ended badly

Cissoko scored twice more for the Pilgrims, with both coming in an excellent 3-1 win over Luton Town - once again at home. It proved to be a vital victory, as his side avoided dropping into the relegation zone.

However, just three games later, the then-21-year-old was sent off in a 5-0 defeat to Cardiff City in the Welsh capital, and during his time-out suspended he suffered a groin injury - further extending his stay out of the team.

By the time the winger was ready to return to the team, Rooney had been sacked after a dramatic drop-off in form.

Miron Muslic was brought in to replace the former Derby boss, but Cissoko was never able to impress the new head coach and his time at Plymouth was brought to a premature end - failing to excite supporters on a regular basis as had been promised.

Sheffield Wednesday acquired the services of the Dutchman for the rest of the campaign, but his time at Hillsborough has not gone to plan and the Championship looks to be a step above the winger at this moment in time.