Yes the old style can come out if a twig drags over it. I bet if you walk around and look at bikes many of them are already out. The "new style" also has an extremely positive/firm grip around the plunger.
Well finally had a half a minute to remove the circlip and take a look at the cup. As expected there was some new-bike funk on the cup seal. Wiped it off on my shirt and re-installed the plunger. It did not need any bleeding at all, it seemed to eject all the air simply upon re-inserting the plunger.
I even removed the cover, to observe for bubbles ejecting, and none. I must be some kind of master mechanic ?
Very nice, clutch works perfectly now, as expected.