At the time of writing, the January transfer window hasn’t even opened yet, but that hasn’t stopped Plymouth Argyle. The Devonshire club is already going about their business with a first winter arrival announced. Here is all you need to know about Ben Waine, the newest face in the League One-leading squad!
Ben Waine Swaps the A-League for the Argyle
All About the Newest Arrival
It was widely reported that new signing Ben Waine was in the stands for the recent win over Wycombe Wanderers. He comes over to England from the A-League, but not actually from Australia. He is Wellington born and bred and began playing for his hometown club from an early age. 11 of the 12 teams in the top division are Australian, with Wellington Phoenix being the one exception.
21-year-old Waine was hugely prolific with the reserve side to the point that he forced his way into the first-team set-up. A 2018 debut is somewhat misleading given that the striker remained a reserves player until 2020, but his record on both sides speaks for itself. In 82 appearances at the top level, he has found the back of the net 22 times, including six in the most recent campaign.
🇳🇿 A huge welcome to Home Park to Ben Waine, who will officially become a Pilgrim on 1 January.
Read all about @_waineo, here. 👇#pafc #incoming
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) December 30, 2022
Moving over to the international side of things and despite being very young, Ben Waine already has seven caps to his name. He earnt his inaugural appearance for New Zealand earlier this year against Papua New Guinea, and actually scored in that game too. Other notable figures currently in the squad include experienced Minnesota United defender Michael Boxall and Newcastle United striker Chris Wood.
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Where Will Ben Waine Fit in at Home Park?
Too many cooks spoil the broth and so for this table-topping Argyle outfit, they have to take extra care in the transfer market. A number of players are currently sharing the goal-scoring load under Steven Schumacher’s management. Amongst those are Ryan Hardie, Swansea City loanee Morgan Whittaker and former Wolves man Niall Ennis.
Ben Waine arrives in Devon primarily as a striker and so it will be fascinating to see how he is used in the coming months. Those currently on the books all bring something different to the table: Whittaker has the top-level trickery whereas someone like Sam Cosgrove can hold the ball up and is clinical for example.
Ben Waine speaks exclusively to Argyle TV on becoming the latest Pilgrim.#pafc
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) December 30, 2022
It isn’t all about the here and now though, particularly when you take the age of this new signing into account. Whittaker and Finn Azaz are a couple of the superb loan cohort and their continued excellence makes a permanent stay at Home Park less and less likely. It isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that Waine’s arrival is coinciding with this.
All in all, there seems to be a lot of positivity about this player back in New Zealand and squad depth is always key at this level. Fixtures come thick and fast and with the work rate displayed by Scotsman Hardie week-in and week-out, the chance to give him more rest will surely be taken where possible by Schumacher and co.
