Plymouth have been told that they will need to dip into their transfer budget if they wish to sign George Cooper permanently this summer.

The winger was on loan at Home Park from Peterborough during the 2019/20 season and Pilgrims manager Ryan Lowe has indicated that he wants to have the 23-year-old on board next term as well. However, Peterborough director of football Barry Fry has insisted that they will not allow Cooper, whose contract expires next summer, to leave on a free transfer.

As per Plymouth Herald, he said: "The Plymouth manager wants to buy George, but they have no money and we won’t be letting him leave on a free transfer. If Plymouth did come up with an acceptable offer things could change, but for now he is with us."

Cooper enjoyed a splendid season on loan at Plymouth, contributing three goals and 12 assists from 31 appearances as he helped the Pilgrims to win promotion to League One for next term. Now that he is back at his parent club, he ended up signing off his loan spell on a high, scoring twice and setting up the other goal in the 3-0 thrashing of Macclesfield in March what was Plymouth's final game before the season was curtailed because of coronavirus.

The winger supplied more assists than anyone else at Home Park in 2019/20, his tally a full 50% higher than the next most creative outlet Antony Sarcevic, who set up eight goals during the campaign. [via TransferMarkt]

As noted by Plymouth Herald, the Pilgrims' hopes of signing the 23-year-old permanently seem unlikely given that their budget, like many other clubs in England, is set to be severely hampered by a loss of income from the lack of matches over the past three months. It is a constraint which Lowe has acknowledged in declaring his desire to strike a deal for Cooper.

Peterborough's refusal to sell Cooper without recouping a transfer fee, combined with Plymouth's likely inability to afford the fee which Posh would probably demand, makes a Home Park return for the 23-year-old seem improbable.

His creative influence is set to be greatly missed by the Pilgrims next season, although it could offer the chance for Callum McFadzean to make the left winger role his own in 2020/21, having often been second choice to Cooper in recent months and even been shifted into defence (as per TransferMarkt).

Plymouth fans, how big a void will Cooper leave if he doesn't return to Home Park next season? Comment below with your views!