- Wayne Rooney has moved for attacking reinforcements for struggling Plymouth
- The move comes after Muhamed Tijani was ruled out until New Year due to injury
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A former Premier League striker has made a short-term move to Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth.
The Home Park side have had a difficult start to the season following Rooney’s arrival as head coach this summer and currently sit just one point outside the relegation places.
Rooney’s side made a strong statement against promotion chasers Burnley on Tuesday but ultimately failed to capitalize on their chances and succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at Turf Moor.
The result left Plymouth with the second-lowest goal tally in the Championship and with Muhamed Tijani out until the New Year due to injury, Rooney moved quickly to bring in attacking reinforcements.
On Friday, the club announced that former Brentford, Burnley and Watford striker Andre Gray has joined the club on a short-term deal until January.
Wayne Rooney has signed a former Premier League star in a bid to solve Plymouth’s lack of goals
Andre Gray has joined the club on a short-term deal after spending last season in Saudi Arabia
The 33-year-old Jamaican international has scored almost 200 goals in all competitions
Following Gray’s arrival, Rooney said: “Once we knew the severity of Muhamed’s injury, we acted quickly to bring in a striker to replace him.
‘Andre is a striker of real quality and has played and scored at the highest level. He will provide competition up front as we head into a busy period of the season and I am very pleased to have him here.”
After first gaining recognition for his goalscoring prowess at then non-league Luton, Gray would score 16 goals in his first Championship campaign after joining Brentford in 2014.
A move to Burnley, reportedly worth £6 million, followed, with Gray being named Championship top scorer in his first season as Sean Dyche’s side won promotion to the top flight.
After scoring nine Premier League goals for the Clarets, Gray joined Watford for a club record fee and was a regular part of the squad for four seasons before spending a year with Aris in Greece.
Gray’s arrival comes after Plymouth striker Muhamed Tijani was ruled out until January due to injury
Gray’s most recent club was Al-Riyadh of the Saudi Pro League, where he scored seven goals in 27 appearances before being released when his contract expired this summer.
After multiple appearances for the England C team, Gray switched to Jamaica in 2021 and has earned 13 caps for the Reggae Boyz.
