After a quiet transfer window in general, Plymouth Argyle started to get busy in its final hours. Overall, the Pilgrims trebled their total number of incomings across two hours on Monday afternoon. First of all, Herbie Kane was signed on loan from Huddersfield Town for the remainder of the season. An hour later, an identical move was agreed with Millwall to bring Wes Harding to Home Park on a temporary deal.
Ever since the start of the window, Argyle have been chasing a centre back. That’s been obvious from Tom Cleverley’s comments in the press, and even referred to by director of football Derek Adams in Harding’s announcement article. There, Adams was quoted as saying “Wes is someone we have had our eye on for a while but as ever in January things often only fall into place late in the window.”
So, things may have taken a little longer than expected, but in the end Argyle got their man. And that man is somebody who brings a wealth of EFL experience, mainly in the second tier. Admittedly, he adds to an area of the pitch where Argyle arguably already have more depth than elsewhere (up front, perhaps?).
Let’s explore this and more to assess how Harding may fare in his five months in Devon. And perhaps beyond, given his Millwall contract is supposedly set to expire this summer.
Assessing the defensive basics
Across Harding’s two-and-a-half years at Millwall, he’s made a total of 37 league appearances. That totalled 2,295 minutes of action, which we can happily use as a sample size to assess the sort of player Argyle have signed.
When looking at a centre back, there are a few easy places we can start. Naturally, I want to investigate defensive actions, which total up clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles. Harding made a total of 170 defensive actions during his Millwall spell, averaging out at 6.67 per 90 minutes.
To be completely honest, that’s underwhelming. Let’s compare it with Argyle’s options for this season for context. Harding’s figure is comfortably the worst of those to have played at centre back for Argyle this season; Julio Pleguezuelo tops the list having completed defensive actions at over double Harding’s rate.
| Player | Defensive Actions per 90 |
| Julio Pleguezuelo | 14.69 |
| Mathias Ross | 14.31 |
| Alex Mitchell | 13.26 |
| Victor Palsson | 12.37 |
| Kornel Szucs | 10.70 |
| Brendan Galloway | 10.27 |
| Brendan Wiredu | 7.09 |
| Wes Harding* | 6.67 |
I accept that anyone’s number of defensive actions can be impacted by their team’s performances. Indeed, a player in a less-dominant team can expect to do more defending than when their team wins every week. However, I don’t necessarily think this aids Harding. Across the last few seasons, Millwall have probably been about as good in the Championship as Argyle have in League One this year. This season is an exception, but Harding has been a bit-part player at best under Alex Neil, hence his loan.
I should say that it isn’t all bad news for Harding. In certain specific defensive actions, such as blocks and interceptions, he ranks rather well. I therefore have no doubt he’ll put his body on the line for the team when necessary. He also seems perfectly capable in the air, with his 63% aerial duel success rate in good company when compared to Argyle’s options this season.
| Player | Aerial Duels Contested | Aerial Duels Won | Success Rate |
| Julio Pleguezuelo | 38 | 25 | 66% |
| Brendan Wiredu | 55 | 35 | 64% |
| Wes Harding* | 98 | 62 | 63% |
| Alex Mitchell | 151 | 92 | 61% |
| Kornel Szucs | 65 | 37 | 57% |
| Brendan Galloway | 106 | 59 | 56% |
| Mathias Ross | 130 | 69 | 53% |
| Victor Palsson | 13 | 6 | 46% |
This is where the comparison between leagues becomes more pronounced. Harding has posted his 63% figure against Championship players, whilst Argyle’s defenders have been playing in League One. Facing, in theory, lower-quality opponents, Harding could easily improve on his figure and become one of Argyle’s main aerial assets.
Complement his abilities with a central defensive partner who can complete a high volume of defensive actions, and Harding could end up eating League One attackers for breakfast.
Versatile capability
Plenty has been made about Harding’s versatility. When Millwall signed him back in 2023, they claimed he could play anywhere across the backline. Indeed, whenever he has made a fleeting appearance for the Lions this season, it’s tended to be in the right back position, rather than the centre back Argyle have brought him in to be.
It’s probably a fair assessment. Across his professional career, Harding has 210 competitive starts on his record. Of those, his starts at centre back are actually in a minority, albeit slightly, with 108 coming in either of the full back positions. Most of those have come on the right, but Harding has shown an aptitude to fill in at left back when required. That’s handy, given Jack MacKenzie’s injury record this season, and Brendan Galloway’s across his career.
| Position | Wes Harding Career Starts |
| Centre back | 102 |
| Right back | 91 |
| Left back | 17 |
| Position | Wes Harding Career Starts |
| Centre back | 102 |
| Full back | 108 |
There is another element to Harding’s versatility. Rather than just looking at the positions he’s played, we can also look at the systems he’s featured within. When doing this, I think we find a player who is adaptable, and can be used by Cleverley in several different ways.
When he first came into the team at Millwall, he was managed by Gary Rowett. As we’ve come to know with Rowett, his style was functional. The football wasn’t necessarily pretty, but Harding was an effective element. Many of you may remember Rowett’s Millwall’s “professional performance” against Steven Schumacher’s Argyle in October 2023; Millwall won 2-0, and Harding played the full 90 minutes.
Shortly after that triumph, however, Rowett was dismissed. He was replaced by Joe Edwards (no, definitely not that one), who put much more of an emphasis on possession. Edwards’ spell in charge at The Den was a disaster in the main, but Harding took the opportunity to demonstrate his competence with the ball at his feet. That spell helped him post a total pass completion rate of 76%, comfortably above Argyle’s average for this season.
Harding’s versatility, both in position and in style, brings something important to Argyle’s defence. If the Pilgrims were looking to sign the best centre back available, Harding would already be a decent contender. And if Adams’ brief was to sign the best possible option to add depth to Cleverley’s defence? My initial instinct is he’s done well.
A set piece threat?
Given what we’ve recently explored about Harding’s aerial abilities, we must naturally consider how he could help Argyle in set piece situations. The Greens have notably improved their set piece output to coincide with their strong form over the last couple of months, and another body who can aid that upturn even further could be a significant positive.
Straight off the bat, I should admittedly point out that Harding doesn’t appear to be a classic goalscoring defender. He scored three goals during his time at Millwall, averaging 0.12 goals per 90 minutes, or one every eight or nine full games. He’s obviously capable, but I’m not expecting a significant contribution in an attacking sense straight away.
That being said, there is a curiosity about Harding’s goalscoring. All three of those goals he scored at Millwall came in a three-week spell between October and November 2023. Two of those came from set pieces. He was in the right place to bundle home the opener from a free kick against Blackburn Rovers (and how about that goalkeeping?).
Days later, Harding headed home from a late corner away at Watford, to give his side the lead in a game that’d eventually end 2-2.
His final goal was in a 4-0 win away at Sheffield Wednesday, in what was the first (and by far the most successful) game of Edwards’ reign. And there ended a remarkable run of goalscoring form, reminiscent of Galloway’s at Argyle in recent weeks. Is it a surprise that Harding, who looked like God’s gift to goalscoring for a three-week period, hasn’t scored again since? Or is that just the nature of the beast?
Anyway, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this came during Harding’s last sustained run of football between 2023 and 2024. He was given a stretch in the team, he got himself in the right areas, and he earned himself some long-awaited goals. If he gets a similar run at Argyle, what could he achieve? We’ve already established that he has the talent to be a beast in the air at this level.
I’m not a betting man at all but, if anyone fancies making their own wagers with each other, I reckon there’s a fair chance Harding scores at least once before his loan at Argyle expires.
Getting up to speed
I’ve alluded to it a couple of times, so let’s address the final elephant in the room. Harding hasn’t been playing a great deal of football lately, and that’s been the case for a while.
Across this piece, we’ve been taking a close look at the 2,295 minutes Harding has played across his two-and-a-half years at Millwall. However, the vast majority of those minutes (1,907), came before March 2024. Since then, he’s played 388 league minutes across 13 appearances in the best part of two years. It’s barely anything.
To put that another way, over half of the minutes Harding has played in the last three years (1,232, or 54%) came while Schumacher was still head coach of Argyle. It’s been that long since he had a genuine run of football.
That’s troubling for two reasons. First of all, we can’t really say with any degree of certainty whether Harding is the same player he was when he had that run of games over two years ago. Sure, there are stats to suggest Harding can have an impact in League One, but will he be able to reach those levels after all this time? We simply don’t know.
Secondly, even if Harding can reach the heights we’ve outlined, he surely can’t be expected to peak straight away. Match fitness will clearly not be high to begin with, given he’s been a squad player for years and not played a single minute of football since November. Considering this is a short-term deal, can Argyle really afford to carry a player who surely won’t be able to contribute fully straight away? Ayman Benarous’ registration status may like a word.
That also lends itself to the debate as to whether this was the best use of Argyle’s resources. I hope Harding will prove to be a successful signing; as I’ve said, in isolation my instincts are positive. Looking at the bigger picture though, was a centre back really what Argyle needed? I totally understand the desire for one, but Argyle have several players who can “do a job” in defence. Meanwhile, I can’t help but feel this team is still short of a winger, and surely three genuine strikers isn’t enough for a team who like to use a 4-4-2.
If Harding can get up to speed, I see enough to suggest he’ll be a good signing. In either case though, I imagine the debates surrounding the best use of Argyle’s “perilous” funds will rage on.