3 strikers AFC Wimbledon and Johnnie Jackson should consider signing ft. Britt Assombalonga | OneFootball

FLW previews 3 strikers Johnnie Jackson should consider signing ahead of the opening game of the season for AFC Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon seemed to have found an excellent goalscorer in Matty Stevens last season when the former Forest Green Rovers striker started life in a Dons shirt extremely well in front of goal.

But following a post-Christmas slump, not only did Steven's goals dry up, Wimbledon's did entirely too, with the Dons' frontline looking completely out of ideas at times and not sure on where their goals would be coming from.

With strikers such as Joe Pigott, Josh Kelly and the ever-reliable Omar Bugiel all failing to find their shooting boots at all last season, Johnnie Jackson really does need to roll the dice and take a dive into the market for ideally two strikers to give the Dons attack some bite, and more importantly, enough quality cover. Here are FLW's thoughts on three players that should be looked at...

Daniel Kanu

First up, we'll look into the loan market, something that was used excellently by the Dons last season by bringing in influential players such as Alistair Smith from Lincoln City, who has since signed permanently, and Owen Goodman, who of course starred in the Dons' promotion-winning season.

Johnnie Jackson does have many contacts within the game having had an expansive EFL career, but here at FLW, we recommend he gets into contact with one of his former clubs where he is perhaps most popular, Charlton Athletic, to bring in their talent young striker Daniel Kanu.

The Sierra Leone international first broke into the first team in the 2021/22 season, at just 17, and since then has been included in the team in fits and spurts. However, having hit 20 years old and not yet nailed down a spot in the first team, Charlton are looking at getting him out on a competitive loan to really help his development kick on now that he is no longer a teenager.

They can do that by loaning him out to Wimbledon, but it is a risky move if the Dons do start to struggle off the bat. The side from SW19 struggled to be a creative force at the end of last season, and while Kanu is the type of striker to thrive from being sent in behind with his pace, having chances put on a plate is where a striker really thrives and develops his game.

If Wimbledon fail to do that, then they risk having another body in the team that is far too inexperienced to be leaned on and is not developing, but if they do, then there is a strong explosive forward who can find his form quickly and will be likely ready to help the Dons push for survival back in League One.

Britt Assombalonga

A player that needs little introduction to those with a certain amount of knowledge when it comes to the EFL, Assombalonga is without much doubt, a fantastic goalscorer here in England and is known most notably for his spells at Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, where, in a combined 217 appearances, he scored 75 goals.

But having explored Turkey with three different clubs as well as a short stint at Watford too in the 2022/23 season, his goalscoring talents seem to have dried up.

On his day, he was another explosive forward with great strength that bullied many Championship defenders, but he may be beyond those abilities now, and, in fact, could instead be used as more of a backup option for Omar Bugiel, given he has more than maintained his muscular appearance, even if his speed and quickness have dropped off a little since last appearing on English shores.

Available following his departure from his last club in Turkey, Amedspor, the Dons do have the DR Congo international on trial at the moment, if social media speculation is to be believed, so they are certainly taking a look into what abilities he has to offer at this stage in his career. But really it is a case of time will tell, very much like Joe Pigott last season, if the Dons have made the correct approach in looking to bring in a player in the twilight of their career that certainly has the experience needed, but perhaps no longer the ability.

Jordy Hiwula

While the other two strikers mentioned so far have been linked somewhat with the club through plenty of social media speculation by fans, Jordy Hiwula is a name that has probably never come across the radar of many Dons fans, but perhaps now should.

A player of the same ilk as the others, just a little smaller and more nimble, Hiwula still possesses the speed that Kanu has, but has the know-how and experience like Assombalonga, now that he is aged 30, that make him a sensible addition to Jackson's squad.

Part of the PFA free agent training squad displayed by the PFA on X, formerly Twitter, Hiwula has a record of performing well at League One level. Add in the fact he is still very much in his prime years, and you have an acquisition that would certainly add another dimension to the Dons' strikeforce.

While he has not scored well or played much since the 2018/19 season, where he appeared 39 times for Coventry City, scoring 12 times, he can use the likes of Marcus Browne, who has found a home at Wimbledon following some injury-disrupted campaigns, as a case study to see that the environment at Plough Lane is perhaps the best to be in to help players find their feet again.

And if the Dons can reignite the form that Hiwula has clearly shown in the past, there is no doubt that he, or in fact any of the others, can certainly contribute to a higher-scoring Wimbledon than that which we saw last season, and reshape a strikeforce that is ultimately needing a new direction.