AFC Wimbledon: Plough Lane future of duo in doubt after positive recruitment drive - View | OneFootball

The Dons have had a brilliant window and looked prepared for the new season, however, that is at the cost of denying breakthroughs for two prospects

Highlights

AFC Wimbledon have recruited well this transfer window, overhauling the squad and finally shaping it into a team that Johnnie Jackson feels is strong and can compete.

However, while this is largely positive news, with many signings and renewals tied down to multi-year deals, it does come at the cost of denying some youngsters their breakthrough campaigns.

Ethan Sutcliffe enjoyed a great spell with Tonbridge Angels last term, and Morgan Williams made a small breakthrough into the first team before heading out on loan to Woking, a move that was curtailed early due to injury, and both have again featured in pre-season. However, there is a feeling that now, due to the brilliant work of Craig Cope and Johnnie Jackson, the wait may go on for Williams and Sutcliffe, for their full first-team breakthroughs.

AFC Wimbledon's positive transfer window

Upon the ending of the 2023/24 season, there was much wonder about how the squad would be improved, with depth being thin and quality far from great.

The retained list did not throw up any surprises, and when it came to early departures, the only quality lost was Armani Little, who, by the end of last season, many fans felt could be replaced.

This left the Dons with plenty of cash to make some moves with, and plenty of depth to fill.

The main focus, early on, seemed to be on attacking strength, with Matty Stevens and Myles Hippolyte the first recruits through the door. However, the focus quickly switched to midfield, where, to help replace Little, as well as the attacking quality of Ronan Curtis, the likes of Callum Maycock and Alistair Smith were brought in.

They joined a midfield already filled with James Ball and club captain Jake Reeves, and with their signings, many fans felt as though the fitness troubles Wimbledon's midfield had been plagued with in the previous season were finally sold with two solid, positive additions giving plenty of options in the middle of the park.

In the midst of Maycock and Smith signing, John-Joe O'Toole was also signed, bringing in another defender and showing signs that, even with doubts over his age coming from fans, the club were prepared to hand out a deal to the versatile 35-year-old, as they knew he would bring the experience that was now lacking following Lee Brown's decision to retire.

With the addition of a new duo of goalkeepers to contend for the number one spot, and the loan deals for Joe Pigott to finish off an attacking quartet with serious quality and firepower and James Furlong to fill the void at left wing-back, the Dons have had an overall positive window, with the quality of individuals being replaced by multiple strong options in various positions.

Why does AFC Wimbledon's positive window impact Williams, Sutcliffe

There is no doubt that the likes of Williams and Sutcliffe can still be involved this season even with all the new signings that were detailed above, with both likely being the third or fourth options in their respective positions and Wimbledon competing in four competitions over the course of this campaign.

To answer the question above though, it comes down to both having very high ceilings and from a personal, as well as the club's point of view they will want to achieve and surpass their potential, which will not be done by sitting around and waiting for rotational opportunities to crop up.

Neither featured on the bench for Wimbledon in the opening game last Saturday against Colchester United, and in fact only two academy graduates were in the squad, those being Isaac Ogundere and Hus Biler.

This perhaps shows that while Wimbledon are a club that pride themselves on giving youngsters a clear pathway to first team football, manager Johnnie Jackson wants his squad to be as experienced and robust as possible in the search for success this season, meaning young stars like Williams and Sutcliffe are unlikely to get a chance while they still do not possess the required amount of experience and stature in the EFL.

Ultimately, this is likely going to result in one, if not both, of the youth prospects heading out on loan, with Williams the more likely subject. His loan deal with Woking last term was not great overall, with the only high point being when the young Welshman won their player of the month award for October, his first month there.

He will need another National League loan to really kick on and progress and begin creating a midfield headache for Jackson, as his inconsistent minutes while out on various loan spells over the past few years due to fitness issues have stunted any progress being made in terms of honing his raw talents and skill.

Some fans too felt that during pre-season, he was still too lightweight for the Dons, and that with a bit of roughing up in the league below, he may come back a much more combative midfielder.

Essentially, the wait is more than likely going to continue for both when it comes to breaking into the first team, as without the aforementioned EFL experience, Johnnie Jackson is unlikely to lean upon Williams, and will pick and choose his moments with Sutcliffe.

There is still plenty of time left in the window too to recruit more players and push the likelihood of a breakthrough further and further away for the young pair, but while this disappointing discovery emerges, there still should be nothing taken away from the brilliant work that Wimbledon have done in the transfer market.