Plymouth Argyle were always going to need to act in this transfer window. To be honest, that had been clear ever since the summer window came to an end. And last week, steps were taken in the market. Law McCabe returned to Middlesbrough, Freddie Issaka came back to Argyle having been on loan at Bristol Rovers, and the Pilgrims then went on to secure their first permanent signing of 2026.
That signing was Ronan Curtis. The 29-year-old winger signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Home Park, joining from fellow League One side Port Vale. Curtis becomes the second player to join Argyle directly from Vale this season, following the arrival of Lorent Tolaj back in August. If the new arrival has even half the impact of Tolaj, he’ll prove a shrewd addition indeed.
Reactions to Curtis’ arrival have been mixed. There is a feeling that, had he arrived during Derek Adams’ first spell at the club, he’d have been an incredibly exciting signing. But is he the same player today? Bringing in a man who the team bottom of this league didn’t fight too hard to keep has raised alarm bells. And as much as I get that, I also get the impression I’m more enthused by this signing than most, and can see plenty in his stats to provide encouragement.
Creative mastery
If we were to take the statistical basis alone, I can see plenty of reasons why Argyle wanted to complete this deal. There is a significant sample size to work with; since the start of the 2024/25 campaign, Curtis has played 2,896 minutes for Port Vale in the league alone. From those minutes, most of Curtis’ positives come when he is in possession. Indeed there are plenty of metrics suggesting he can offer plenty creatively that Argyle have been missing.
Take, for example, key passes. Across the last 18 months, Curtis has made 58 key passes, equivalent to 1.80 per 90 minutes. Compared to Argyle’s crop this season, that would rank third, behind Xavier Amaechi and Jamie Paterson. And it’s important to note that both are working with a significantly smaller sample size; compared to the 2,896 we’re looking at for Curtis, Amaechi has played 675 minutes in the league for Argyle, and Paterson 482.
| Player | Key Passes per 90 |
| Xavier Amaechi | 2.67 |
| Jamie Paterson | 2.43 |
| Ronan Curtis* | 1.80 |
| Matty Sorinola | 1.46 |
| Joe Hatch | 1.34 |
| Ayman Benarous | 1.25 |
Curtis seems to particularly flourish from wide areas. In the time period we’re investigating, he completed an average of 1.58 crosses per 90. Amaechi would be the only player in Argyle’s ranks to top that this term (and barely, on 1.60). We may never see it in action, but a front three with Curtis on the left and Amaechi on the right, spearheaded by Tolaj, could terrorise defences.
I appreciate that we’re comparing between leagues here. Given Port Vale were in League Two last season, is it possible Curtis was stat padding, and couldn’t step up to League One level? I don’t think so. This season, Curtis has posted a total expected assists figure of 2.76. That’s better than anybody else at Port Vale, despite the fact he’s only played 43% of the possible league minutes across the campaign. Clearly, when he plays, he’s still a threat.
And that’s crucial. Yes, Vale sit bottom of League One at present. But in the expected points table, they’re tenth. The reasons for their current predicament are much more down to poor finishing, and indeed shipping soft goals at the other end, than creativity. In fact, Vale’s total xG of 29.6 is perfectly acceptable, and Curtis has played a key role in creating those chances.
Admittedly, some of Curtis’ stats on the ball are nothing to particularly shout about. His pass success figure over the last two years is 63%, which is comfortably below average. Additionally, Issaka, from his total of 41 minutes, is the only player at Argyle to have lost possession more regularly than Curtis (22.28 times per 90).
Again, however, I’m unconcerned. This suggests to me that Curtis is regularly attempting high-risk passes. He’s always trying to make something happen, and with better strikers it could seriously pay dividends. Just ask Tolaj – Curtis has already provided him with an assist from their Port Vale days. The winner, in fact, in a narrow victory away to Notts County.
Useful versatility
Curtis’ creativity is doubly useful when you consider he also brings a degree of versatility. Yes, he has his favoured and least favoured positions, but across his career Curtis has played in several roles, suggesting he can be an asset to Tom Cleverley’s team in a variety of ways.
Online resources suggest Curtis has made 325 starts across his career. And as a brief aside, that’s encouraging in its own right. Argyle have signed a player with significant experience; he doesn’t turn 30 until the end of March, but Curtis has already made 203 appearances in League One alone. That will surely serve the club well as they continue to get to grips with this level.
Of those 325 starts, we can divide them into four sections: games on the left, on the right, in midfield and as a striker. We can also assess how successful he has been in each role. That brings the following results.
| Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Goal Contributions per Game |
| Left Wing | 224 | 62 | 37 | 0.44 |
| Striker | 58 | 12 | 7 | 0.33 |
| Right Wing | 25 | 5 | 3 | 0.32 |
| Midfield | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0.28 |
That draws us towards an obvious conclusion: Curtis is most comfortable on the left. It’s where he’s made most of his appearances (69% of his career starts), and he’s most effective when deployed in that area. However, he’s clearly not hapless when playing elsewhere. He still averages around a goal contribution every three games when operating as a striker or on the right, providing a solid platform upon which to build.
That’s crucial for Argyle. At the moment, they don’t play with conventional wingers in their 4-4-2 formation, or at least not the sort to form a traditional front three. I’d ideally like to see Curtis line up on the left in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, but for now he’ll need to slot in via a less familiar role. I’ve seen enough across his career to suggest he should still be able to perform.
Some have suggested Curtis operates best when deployed in the middle, just off a main striker. I’m not sure I agree, and all the numbers suggest the left wing is his favoured and most effective home. At Argyle though, a shadow striker may be his role to begin with, unless Brendan Galloway switches to centre back in Julio Pleguezuelo’s latest absence. That would allow Bali Mumba to move to left back, freeing Curtis to slot in on the left of the midfield four.
The good news? It gives Cleverley options, even if he looks to change shape in the near future.
Off-field or injury concerns?
Argyle have had several battles with Curtis over the years. Generally, they’ve emerged well; the Irishman has played against his new employers seven times over the course of his career, winning just once. More often than not though, he made a personal impression. Curtis has one assist and three goals against Argyle in those seven appearances; against no other team has he scored more frequently.
Most of those games came while he was a Portsmouth player. Before that, he featured heavily for Derry City, following spells in the youth academies of Kildrum Tigers and Swilly Rovers. Is he the first Swilly boy to play for Argyle? Almost certainly not.
Curtis’ one win against Argyle came in his first appearance for Portsmouth against the Pilgrims. That day, he was unplayable. He scored twice and got an assist as Adams’ side were subjected to an abject 3-0 defeat.
2018, the year of that game, proved a fruitful one for Curtis. Not only did he win Pompey’s Young Player of the Season award, he was also named the Republic of Ireland’s under-21 Player of the Year. A full senior debut would follow, and Curtis would go on to make seven appearances for his country.
In those days, it will have felt the world was at his feet. So why did he spend last season playing in League Two? And why now have Argyle been able to poach him from the side sitting bottom of the third tier?
Well, there are indications that he hasn’t exactly always been professional over the years. An interview with former Portsmouth coach Simon Bassey told the story. He said “the shape of your body will also change over time. It can be the right lifestyle, it can be the wrong lifestyle, I will let you decide which one Ronan’s was.”
Bassey then went on to clarify: “He needs to be fit and, ahead of the second season, came back from an all-inclusive holiday in Tenerife. Not coming back in the shape they would expect him to be probably wasn’t Ronan’s greatest move. You’re then always playing catch-up, which can be difficult.”
So, “letting himself go” may have played a part in the decline. And so did some rotten luck. In February 2023, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, leading to a predictably lengthy spell on the sidelines. He wouldn’t play for Portsmouth again after that, and wouldn’t play at all for nearly a year until lining up for AFC Wimbledon in January 2024.
Since Curtis officially joined Argyle, many have pointed to that injury as a turning point in his career. There’s an impression that he hasn’t been the same player since, and there may be some merit to that argument. I think it’d be unfair to say Argyle have signed an injury-prone player though. Curtis’ problem was a significant long-term injury, not several niggling injuries that regularly keep him out of the action.
It could prove significant, however. I do believe Curtis has all the talent to be a successful Argyle signing, but he’ll only be able to showcase that if he’s fit enough to feature. In every sense of the word.