A tweet this morning from journalist Alan Nixon appeared to indicate that Plymouth Argyle could be in for something of a windfall. His update, indicating that Wigan had bid £5m for Southampton striker Sam Gallagher, means that there is every chance that Argyle may be in for a size-able sell-on fee.

However, unlike Jack Stephens – who it emerged has a 10% sell-on fee in his contract – we do not know what share of the transfer Argyle would receive if the deal goes through. Additionally, some transfers, particularly for young players, specify clubs should receive a share of the profit, rather than the overall transfer fee.

Since we currently do not know how much Argyle received for the transfer, nor the share the club negotiated, it is impossible to know what the club could receive should Wigan’s proposed transfer go through. It could range from 5% to 25%, though it is more likely to be 10% since that was agreed for Stephens.

It should also be noted that the club would be unlikely to receive a lump sum or Stephens, as Wigan would likely pay the fee in installments. However, this would not necessarily impede Argyle from spending it immediately, as they too could arrange a transfer to be paid in installments.

Though Gallagher’s progress has stagnated a little in recent years, he was the hottest of hot property when he was sold from Plymouth Argyle’s academy to Southampton as a 16 year-old in 2012. He was suggested at that time to be one of the best young prospects the club had ever produced, with Everton and Newcastle also interested in the transfer.

Since he burst onto the scene in 2013/14, his development has not gone how he might have liked. Yet, he is still undeniably a solid player at Championship level, as seen in his last two loan spells at Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City. In a market where Championship fees are consistently inflating, Nixon’s suggested fee of £5 million seems a perfectly feasible amount for which interested sides like Wigan and Blackburn may buy the Devonian. Furthermore, with more than one club interested, there remains the possibility of a bidding war.