PLYMOUTH have been denied permission to speak to Walsall manager Matt Sadler.
Argyle have placed the Saddlers boss on their shortlist to replace Wayne Rooney.
Sadler, a former Premier League star with Birmingham City, has guided Walsall 10 points clear of League Two.
The Saddlers have won their last seven games in the fourth tier, pulling clear of a chasing pack including Crewe Alexandra, Salford, Port Vale and AFC Wimbledon.
Championship strugglers Plymouth are considering testing their resolve with a generous compensation package.
Man Utd legend Rooney was given the boot on New Year’s Eve with Argyle rock bottom of the Championship.
Rooney won just five of his 25 games in charge, with Argyle’s last victory way back in early November at home to Portsmouth.
The Pilgrims have scrapped filming for their fly-on-the-wall documentary following Rooney’s exit.
As SunSport revealed in November, filming had commenced for a series showcasing their battle for Championship survival.
They had hoped to flog the series to a streaming platform – such as Netflix or Amazon Prime – and raise significant funds in the process.
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Production staff were told to “take a break” from filming after just TWO games, with club bosses worried the project risked becoming a “distraction”.
Lorton Entertainment, who had been working on the project, already had ties to the Rooneys, having worked on feature length documentary ‘Rooney’ and ‘Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story‘.
As for Rooney, he is expected to be offered an immediate return to punditry work.
A TV insider told SunSport: “Wayne is regarded as one of the best pundits in the business.
“He’s very, very knowledgeable about the game.
“And even though he’s actually quite a shy person, he really feels at home in a TV studio.
The insider added: “It’s been a rubbish end to 2024 for Wayne, but he’s not going to be out of work for long.
“Wayne still harbours ambitions of making it as a manager.
“But, like Gary Neville, it might end up being the case that he can carve out a more successful and lucrative career as a pundit rather than as a manager in the dugout.”
