Benarous may be loaned to National League side

Plymouth Argyle's Ayman Benarous could go on loan to a National League side after losing his place in the club's League One squad.

The deadline day signings of Wes Harding and Herbie Kane meant the Pilgrims had more than the permitted 22 outfield players aged 21 or over in their EFL squad.

It meant the 22-year-old, who moved to the club on a free transfer in the summer after being released by Bristol City, was the player to miss out.

"He's played a lot of minutes for us this season, but unfortunately for him it's him," head coach Tom Cleverley said.

"What he does in the rest of the season, because he's out of contract at the end? Does he go on a 28-day loan to the National League or I think he can do a 93-day loan as well.

"So does he take up that option? We're looking into that."

The versatile Benarous, who can play in defence or midfield, has made 15 appearances in all competitions for Plymouth this season.

His last appearance was in the 4-1 loss at home to Reading on Boxing Day.

Benarous joined the Pilgrims having missed three years of football after two serious knee injuries and hamstring surgery.

Argyle have included 17-year-old Tegan Finn as part of the 22-man roster in order to comply with the league's homegrown player rules.

"It's really competitive, and the reason why we named Tegan, or you name one of your academy players that you don't have to, is if you don't have a homegrown player in the squad, or an academy product in the squad, you can only name six subs," added Cleverley.

"So we didn't want them to be restricted like that, so Tegan is an under-21 and doesn't need to be named, but that's the reason why we've done it that way and unfortunately Ayman is the one that misses out."