Morgan Whittaker was behind many joyous, unforgettable moments during his time at Plymouth Argyle but, sadly, his legacy has been tarnished by one match he did not play in for them.

That was the Championship clash against Burnley on Wednesday night, when Miron Muslic was asked in his post-match Press conference after the 5-0 defeat at Home Park why Whittaker, subject of intense transfer talk, had not been in the squad and the head coach replied that he had been 'in the selection but was not there'.

Whittaker got to the ground around an hour before the 8pm kick-off and Plymouth Live understands a late change was made to the Argyle team sheet. While all this does not excuse the fact that the players performed so poorly they trailed by five goals at half-time, it is still fair to say this must have been a massive pre-match distraction for them.

READ MORE: Morgan Whittaker leaves Plymouth Argyle in £6m Middlesbrough transfer

READ MORE: Plymouth Argyle move for Dutch defender reported to have fallen through

How could it not be? One moment they are preparing for what was always going to be a very tough game against one of the Championship's best teams with Whittaker in the squad and then they find out he is not going to be involved at all.

Instead, as the Sky Sports TV coverage regularly showed, Whittaker watched the game sat alongside on-loan Burnley striker Michael Obefemi in Lower Mayflower Grandstand.

Those turned out to be the last images of the 24-year-old as an Argyle player and he has now gone on to complete a £6 million transfer to Championship rivals Middlesbrough, plus a potential £2m in add-ons.

When Argyle's team to take on Burnley was confirmed at 7pm on Wednesday I must admit I was not totally surprised to see it did not include Whittaker because he had been at the centre of so much transfer talk.

It had become known that Burnley and Middlesbrough had both made offers for him but that they had not matched Argyle's valuation of the player. So on the night the widespread feeling was that a bid must have either been accepted, or a transfer was very close to being completed, and that was why Whittaker was in the stands

However, Muslic made his feelings very clear in his post-match Press conference. "We need players who really want to play for Argyle so we can always count on them, and we need players who are ready to give everything. He was in the selection and he was not there."

During my 28 seasons reporting on Argyle there have been quite a few jaw-dropping moments. This was right up there among them. So much so that I double checked with Muslic exactly what he meant. "Morgan didn't show up, he was in the selection," came the reply.

Muslic was measured and controlled in the words he used and the way he delivered them. Word soon spread to the Green Army exactly what had been said. Yet on Friday night a different version of events emerged in a story in The Mirror by their chief football writer John Cross.

He reported: "Whittaker spoke with Muslic on Tuesday morning ahead of the Burnley game. Muslic made it clear that he was not in his plans for the game and was not up for selection anyway.

"Muslic then worked on shape ahead of the Burnley game but Whittaker was not involved in that session and was told to train with the other players who had also not been selected for the squad. That decision was taken because the club had made it clear they were ready to sell Whittaker this month amid interest from Middlesbrough and other clubs, including Burnley."

Given Argyle's struggles ever since Steven Schumacher - the man who brought Whittaker to the club in the first place - left to take charge of Stoke City in December 2023 it is entirely understandable that he wanted to leave for Middlesbrough.

There have been the failed head coach appointments of first Ian Foster and then Wayne Rooney, poor player recruitment, the sale of two of the club's other top players in Michael Cooper and Lewis Gibson, as well as the dreadful run of results this season.

He is now swapping a probable relegation to League One with Argyle for a likely Championship play-off push with Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough, and joining up again with Finn Azaz, who starred alongside him for the Pilgrims over two spells at Home Park.

The Green Army will always remember fondly the many wonderful goals that Whittaker scored but his messy exit from Argyle will also live on in their memories too.

You can read more of our Argyle stories from Plymouth Live by clicking HERE