Plymouth Argyle manager John Sheridan is on the look out for a replacement for skipper Conor Hourihane following his transfer to League One side Barnsley.
Argyle agreed a fee believed to be in the region of £200,000 for the 23 year-old Irishman- who ends a three-year association with the Pilgrims, a year and a half of which were spent captaining the side.
Whilst many of the 'Green Army' would be disappointed to see their skipper depart Home Park, but circumstances played a hand in the Pilgrims' decision to accept what was the third bid which the Tykes had made for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international.
With only 12 months remaining on his contract, Hourihane- who made 142 appearances for Argyle and scored 16 goals- would have been free to leave the Pilgrims at the end of the 2014-15 with no compensation- as by that time he would have reached the age of 24, the age where out of contract players cease to earn their club any form of fee.
However, the Pilgrims will not keep the bulk of the fee as 50 % of the deal will go towards paying off football creditors following the club's spell in Administration in 2011.
The move comes just days after Sheridan signed Hourihane's former Sunderland teammate Peter Hartley, a centre back who takes the Pilgrims' summer arrivals up to five.
Sheridan to appoint a new skipper and sign a midfielder to fill the void left by his departure.
One likely successor to the Irishman as captain is long serving defender Curtis Nelson, who now becomes the club's longest serving player, and is now, along with young striker Matt Lecointe, one of the only surviving players from the club's dark days in Administration.
The importance of finding the right type of player to replace Hourihane is a great one, as it was thought that his presence in the side was believed to be vital to a side looking to mount a challenge for promotion.
