St Johnstone have completed the signing of former Plymouth Argyle striker, Luke Jephcott.
Courier Sport explores the background of the former Welsh under-21 international who Perth fans will be hoping turns into their next prolific goalscorer.
Fox in the box
Jephcott is an out and out number nine, who will bring a new skillset to Steven MacLean’s attack.
Pace isn’t one of his chief strengths but coming alive in the penalty box certainly is.
Asked back in 2020 which top striker he would choose to aspire to, Jephcott picked Harry Kane.
“(Kane’s) not the quickest, but he knows where the back of the net is. I would say I’m not the quickest, but I think I’ve shown I can score a goal or two,” he said.
Then Plymouth boss Ryan Lowe observed: “His movement’s very good.
“He’ll go in to come out. He’ll know if the defender’s there and come across him. But the kid’s finishing ability and being in the right place at the right time and being able to know when to run and when not to run, is his biggest asset for me.”
Non-league career kickstart
Before his career took off with Plymouth, Jephcott, who had previously been used as a winger, established himself as a centre-forward on loan at Truro City.
Paul Wotton, manager of the Cornish part-timers who played in the Southern league, praised his mindset.
“Luke came down with the right attitude to Truro,” he said.
“He could easily have sulked and felt sorry for himself, but he didn’t.
“He was coming up against a lot of what you would call no-nonsense centre-backs, but he handled that really well.
𝗨𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 👏🏼
A Luke Jephcott 🚀 against this weekend’s opponents back in 2019! #WhiteTigers pic.twitter.com/b5ZzEujv2v
— Truro City FC (@TCFC_Official) October 19, 2022
“Luke’s tough and doesn’t mind getting kicks so that was no drama.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him when he was at Truro. He was brilliant. His attitude was great.
“He was pretty much the best player in every training session.”
Scottish connections
He made his Plymouth debut at 18 under Derek Adams, coming on as a late substitute to play alongside Graham Carey in a 3-2 defeat to Burton Albion in October 2018.
His first start came a couple of weeks later when Argyle were beaten 5-0 in the Football League Trophy by a Chelsea side featuring Billy Gilmour.
Kevin who?
It wasn’t until the start of the following season when he scored his first competitive goals – a double against Scunthorpe, outshining the opposition number nine, Kevin van Veen, who scored just the one that day.
⏰ 24-hours after being recalled from a loan spell in non-league, teenage striker Luke Jephcott bagged a brace for Plymouth!
💪🏻 The Pilgrims secured back-to-back away victories with a 3-1 success at Scunthorpe.
👌🏻 Check out these goals!#PAFC @Only1Argyle pic.twitter.com/lQuGpgHndI
— Sporting Life 🎯🔴🎾⛳️🥊🏏🏉 🏈🏀 (@SportingLifeFC) January 5, 2020
Three not the magic number yet
Jephcott has bagged six braces (five with Plymouth, one at Swindon) over his career but is yet to score a hat-trick.
£5 million price tag
When Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City were all linked with him in 2021, Plymouth were reported to have valued the then 21-year-old at £5 million, taking into account the £8 million paid by Brentford for Ivan Toney.
Worth even more
Plymouth fans certainly thought they had a star in the making at their club – with £5 million deemed not enough!
One Tweeted: “Jephcott is easily worth £10m+ right now. 21 years old, top scorer in League 1, more than a goal every other game, Premier League potential. When he scores in the Euros he’ll be worth £15m+, the transfer market has moved on since we had a player this good #pafc”
Euro hopes
When Jephcott was in the middle of his 2020/21 hot streak, Lowe talked up his chances of breaking into the Wales squad for that summer’s European Championships.
He played 11 times for the under-21s and was under serious consideration for the Euros.
International football is back in just over a week – is Luke Jephcott’s club form enough to warrant a call up to the senior Welsh side? ⚽️🏴#Cymru #PelDroed #Wales #Football #FAW #WC2022 #LukeJephcott #PlymouthArgyle #YWalGoch #TogetherStronger #PlayForThDragon pic.twitter.com/YVUXRZ02im
— Play For The Dragon Podcast ⚽️🎸🥊🥋🏴 (@PlayFrTheDragon) August 23, 2021
Lowe said: “They play a 4-3-3 so I don’t think they play two up front like we do. If he scores another five or six goals then I would like to see him on the plane to the Euros, 100%.
“It remains to be seen. If he goes (to the Euros) he will have warranted going. If he doesn’t then no problem, he’s still learning.”
Unfortunately the goals dried up for Jephcott in the spring and he wasn’t selected by Rob Page.
All 18 goals of his goals that season were scored by the start of February.
Plymouth milestone
Jephcott’s equaliser in a 2-1 win over Ipswich Town in October, 2022 was the 6,000th Football League goal scored by the club.
The 5,000th was scored by ex-Saint, Nathan Lowndes two decades earlier.
Familiar opponents
His last goal for Plymouth came at the expense of Jason Kerr’s Wigan.
The two men were direct opponents at the end of the 2021/22 season.
New Saints goalkeeper, Dimitar Mitov, certainly knows all about his new team-mate.
Jephcott scored past the Bulgarian in a 1-1 draw with Cambridge United – and he also found the net against Dan Phillips’ Gillingham side.
Jody Morris a fan
Jephcott’s last manager was a former McDiarmid Park fans’ favourite, Jody Morris.
He was a deadline day loan replacement for Hibs-bound forward, Harry McKirdy, at Swindon Town.
Shortly before Morris lost his job at the County Ground he said that he would consider signing Jephcott permanently if the club’s finances allowed.
No Flash Harry
Saints fans shouldn’t be expecting any goal celebrations to rival Stevie May’s ‘Griddy’ routine.
Jephcott opts to keep things simple after finding the net.
“I’ve got so many plans but when I score I just do the same thing,” he said. “Turn around and wait for everybody to come!
“I’ve got quite a few ideas – like a boxing or golf celebration – but don’t have it in me to follow through with them!”
