MK Dons plotting Aston Villa raid in January transfer window | OneFootball

In the summer, Milton Keynes Dons made a managerial move that was somewhat different to their previous ones as they opted for experience over their usual choice of head coach.

Graham Alexander arrived into the dugout at Stadium MK, but it soon became apparent that the ex-Scotland international was not the right fit, and in October he was sacked after just a few months in charge in Buckinghamshire.

Enter Mike Williamson though, who was more in the style of the Dons' previous bosses such as Liam Manning and Mark Jackson, who were proven with working with younger players and had a clear style of play that the club had been working towards.

And so far, former Newcastle United defender Williamson has been working wonders since his switch from Gateshead of the National League, losing just the once in league action since his arrival at the Dons - and that was in his first match in charge all the way back in October.

Since then, MK are unbeaten in nine matches, have won four on the spin and heading into 2024, they sit in sixth position in the League Two table - with the January transfer window on the horizon though, Williamson wants to strengthen his hand to try and chase down the automatic promotion spots in the fourth tier.

MK Dons want to sign Marschall from Aston Villa

And according to a report from The Sun journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon account, one of the areas that Williamson is looking to bolster is in-between the sticks.

First-choice stopper Craig MacGillivray has played in all 23 league games so far and his understudy is 27-year-old Michael Kelly, who is yet to play a league game in English football since moving over from Ireland in 2022, but young Aston Villa stopper Filip Marschall is being targeted by Williamson.

And he is a player that the Dons boss knows all about, having taken the 20-year-old on loan for Gateshead on two separate occasions.

Williamson first signed the former England under-19 international in January 2022 for the remainder of that season whilst the Heed were a National League North club, and he struck the same deal again with Villa in January 2023 in the National League.

Marschall played 39 times for the Tynesiders in those two stints, keeping 14 clean sheets in the process, and Williamson would now like to bring him to the Dons just a few weeks after he made his senior debut for the club in the UEFA Europa Conference League against Zrinjski Mostar.

Williamson may have to wait to try and sign Marschall for the Dons though as currently, the youngster is needed as backup to first-choice stopper Emi Martinez at Villa Park.

Veteran Swedish stopper Robin Olsen has been missing since early December with an injury, and it is thought that Unai Emery is waiting for the 33-year-old to become fit once more.

Only then will Emery consider letting Marschall depart for the remainder of the campaign for first-team football, and considering he was entrusted to make his debut in Europe recently, there is clearly high hopes for the 20-year-old at the Midlands outfit.