For the first time since his move to Wrexham in the summer of 2018, Luke Young is set to return to Plainmoor to face Torquay United with the Dragons - we will out look back at Young's career to date.
Amongst the hopes and aspirations of the thousands upon thousands of wannabe professional footballers in this country is to be able to make their professional debut for their home town club.
For a then 17-year old Luke Young that dream became a reality on January 29th, 2011 when he was sent on by the then Plymouth Argyle manager Peter Reid in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of AFC Bournemouth as a late substitute in place of Northern Ireland international Rory Patterson. Reid, a former midfielder of some distinction with Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City and winner of 13 England caps, delivered a positive assessment of Young's late cameo against the Cherries.
"Rory took a knock, but the boy Young has got good feet. He's a bit slight, but he's a good little footballer," said Reid. "I knew Rory was struggling, so I just wanted to have a look at him."
For Young, his professional debut was something that he had been working towards for a long time. He had first joined the Pilgrims' the Centre of Excellence at the age of nine. The game was certainly in his blood as his father Mark was a former apprentice with Torquay United who later turned out for Plymouth Parkway and Torpoint Athletic in the Jewson South Western League.
Young's early days at Home Park coincided with a period of turbulence for Argyle. Following his full debut away to Brighton and Hove Albion, the Pilgrims entered Administration and the resulting ten-point deduction ensured their relegation from League One to League Two.
Despite the uncertainty that would surround the club until James Brent's takeover of the club was ratified in October 2011, Young would be finish the 2010-11 season with five appearances to his name and later signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2011.
In the 2011-12 season, the club's on-field struggles continued as Reid was replaced as manager by Carl Fletcher, initially on a caretaker basis, after the Pilgrims only managed to secure one point from their opening ten league games of the campaign. However, Young played his part in helping the Pilgrims avoid relegation from the Football League as he scored his first goal for the club on New Year's Day 2012 against Torquay United and he also featured for the Pilgrims in their penultimate home game of the campaign against Oxford United where they finally retained their League Two status with a 1-1 draw.
The following close season saw Young sign a new two-year deal with the Pilgrims.
Another managerial change followed in the 2012-13 season as Fletcher was replaced by John Sheridan, and it was under Sheridan's reign that Young's tenure with Argyle would come to an end as it was released perhaps surprisingly at the end of the 2013-14 campaign.
His next move would see him join Torquay United as manager Chris Hargreaves' marquee signing as they made a bid to return to the Football League at the first attempt after being relegated from the Football League for a second time.
Young soon became a big hit at Plainmoor as he proved to be a talismanic figure as the Gulls won six games in a row in August-September 2014, which raised the expectation levels of an immediate return to League Two at the first attempt. This was followed by what arguably proved to be his finest hour in a Gulls' shirt as he scored a stunning 40-yard volley in a 2-1 win against Wrexham on October 4th, 2014. Had it been scored at a more scrutinised level of the game then it would have been a nailed on certainty to win FIFA's Ferenc Puskas award for the best goal scored all year.
Such was his popularity with the United faithful that he won what would prove to be the first of his three player of the year awards whilst with the club in the 2014-15 season.
Once again there was another managerial change for Young in the summer of 2015 as Paul Cox replaced Hargreaves as manager following a takeover by a fan-headed consortium led by Dave Phillips. A knee ligament injury in the 2015-16 pre-season would mean that he wouldn't appear for Cox in a competitive game as Cox resigned after ten games in charge and by the time he returned to full fitness, the Gulls were battling against relegation to National League South under Kevin Nicholson.
Thankfully Young did manage to return to play a part in helping United retain their National League status in their first 'Great Escape', and he would also play a big part in their second 'Great Escape' of the 2016-17 campaign - and won his second player of the year award.
Sadly there was to be no third 'Houdini act' in the 2017-18 season for the Gulls and Young - this time under Gary Owers who replaced Nicholson, who was sacked four games into the campaign, as United were relegated to the National League South. Young was one of the mainstays in the Gulls' side that season and along with central defender Sean McGinty they were the only two players to appear in every game of the 2017-18 campaign.
United's relegation also saw his time at Plainmoor come to an end as he signed for his present side Wrexham in the summer of 2018. In his first season with the Dragons, they reached the National League play-offs where they were beaten by Eastleigh at the Quarter-final stage.
Footnote: When Luke Young appeared for Plymouth Argyle on April 21st, 2012 - a game which the Pilgrims drew 1-1 to retain their Football League status - he lined-up alongside Durrell Berry, who would also find his way to Plainmoor after leaving Home Park, and against future Gulls Asa Hall and Liam Davis, a future team-mate at Plainmoor.
