Guy Branston: Bim Pepple has risen to the challenge at Plymouth Argyle

Earlier in the season, I was very harsh on Plymouth Argyle’s Bim Pepple. He’s proved me wrong by scoring a ton of goals in League One, but I was only harsh on him because I could see the potential.

After a number of loans in his Luton Town days, I think there was a bit of a fear factor around him of ‘Am I good enough for this level?’.

He was playing within himself, and wasn’t using the physical attributes and natural ability – that everyone could blatantly see – to ruffle defenders and create chances.

Now he’s settled, you can see all that power, agility, even pace at times.

Positives

There’s a lot of positives about him, even beyond the goals.

He holds the ball up very well and brings people into play – and that’s been a big factor in the way Plymouth have climbed the table.

At the same time, I wouldn’t expect Championship interest just yet. Recruiters from that level will have seen the inconsistency earlier in the season and the time it took him to adjust.

They’ll want to see another season of him scoring regularly in League One.

INFLUENTIAL: Bim Pepple, left, has helped Plymouth Argyle climb the League One table
PICTURE: Alamy

Target

The Championship has evolved into an unbelievably intense beast with really high-end quality players who have only just been edged out of the Premier League.

The gap to League One is massive, especially for a 23-year-old with only one season at the level under his belt.

Even if an offer did come in, I think the best thing for Bim, recently called up by Canada for the first time, would be to stay at Plymouth for another year – whatever division they are in – aim for a 20-goal season and target a big move then.

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