Fans will be sad to see Ward go, though they should be quietly confident that he wouldn't refuse a return to Westcountry if his West Ham career fails to pan out as successful as it should do. It came to light the day after the Coventry match, the Harrow-born stopper's 21st birthday, that he turned down an offer from Sheffield United to extend his loan with the Pilgrims.
Loan signings can be good but Elliott was truly exceptional and an obvious talent. Glimpses toward end of last season, when he partnered Anton Ferdinand in defence for the Hammers, showed a lot of promise and perhaps, one day, they may both play at the heart of the England defence. United are flying high in the Premiership but his talents will win through and everyone at Argyle Mad, on behalf the football club, wish young Elliott all the best in his attempts to break into Alan Pardew's team.
Ward - click here for Player Profile - won the Argyle Mad's Player Of The Month for January.
As to replacing EW, Tony Pulis likely to revert to the centre-half pairing of Hasney Aljofree and Mathais Doumbe for the trip to Pride Park. Aljofree was shifted out to left-back on Elliott Ward's arrival, before losing his place all together with Paul Connolly regaining full fitness.
As to future signings, Welsh International James Collins, also of West Ham, was heavily linked at first with Alan Pardew hinting at a possible loan move for the former Cardiff man. The centre-back, signed in the summer, has failed to make an impression on the side and is expected by Hammer's fans to drop down the pecking order with Elloitt Ward returning to Upton Park.
This link was semi-quashed after Sky Sports claimed that the Westcountry did not appeal to Collins, or rather Pardew on his behalf. Another link fed to us was Charlton Athletic's Osei Sankofa, an England Under-19s International who is said to have a great future in the game. Click here for the link to this story, broken by Vital Football...