AFC Wimbledon got better deal following 2022 Forest Green Rovers, Walsall transfer saga - View | OneFootball

Hat-trick hero Matty Stevens could have joined the Dons earlier than this summer, but maybe the wait was worth it for both player and club

Having sealed a hat-trick for AFC Wimbledon against Carlisle United, there have been plenty of Dons fans thanking their lucky stars that Matty Stevens chose to join their club in the summer.

However, the former Forest Green Rovers and Walsall forward could have joined the Dons at a different stage in his career, which may not have been as fruitful.

The former junior boxer was on the comeback trail from an ACL injury back in 2022 when he found himself in a small transfer saga between the Dons and Walsall, and looking back now, surely everybody associated with Wimbledon must be very happy that history played out the way it did.

“Things happen for a reason" - Matty Stevens on failed 2022 AFC Wimbledon move

Stevens was certainly hot property when he started his comeback from the ACL injury he sustained during 2021/22, as the now 26-year-old had a very good record at League Two level. Before joining Wimbledon in the summer, he had notched up 149 appearances and racked up over 50 goal contributions.

So it was no surprise that the Dons came calling in the January transfer window of 2022/23, when, having lost Nathan Young-Coombes, Kyle Hudlin and Ayoub Assal, the club were bereft of options in attacking areas and lacked a dangerous, goalscoring forward.

However, the move for Stevens fizzled out in the end, with the striker choosing Walsall instead as the club he would begin his ACL comeback with.

But with stellar performances against Premier League opposition in Ipswich Town this current season, as well as good league showings before the three-goal show versus Carlisle against the likes of Colchester United, there is more than an impression that the move to AFC Wimbledon this summer was definitely worth the wait.

: "It was nearly done (talking of his 2022 transfer decision), Wimbledon was where I wanted to go.

"I had a call from Michael Flynn (then Walsall boss) and he promised me that I would play every game. There were other reasons to it. Jamille Matt, who is the best strike partner I have had, was there, and he was speaking to me on the phone.

"The most important thing for me at that stage was game time.

"I was on the way back from my ACL and I rushed back too quickly. I was a little bit overweight coming back – it took me a bit of time to get back to myself.

"When the loan move came about, I was on my way to Wimbledon. Thank god I didn’t – it wasn’t the right time for me. Things happen for a reason. Now I’m looking back, I’m happy I didn’t end up coming to Wimbledon – the fans wouldn’t have seen the best of me.

"It was nice to know that they have had that interest before and now came back in for me. It was a big reason [for signing now]. It’s the same gaffer and I didn’t want to let him down this time."

Walsall, Forest Green must envy AFC Wimbledon over Matty Stevens' form

Arguably, there is likely a fair amount more jealousy coming from Forest Green's perspective considering their relegation from League Two into the National League last season, with Stevens still on their books, and playing, than Walsall, who have been largely unaffected, but envy must be brewing on both sides that neither got this version of Stevens.

While he himself did admit that he likely came back from his eight-month spell on the sidelines too quickly, the Dons are also getting this recent tremendous form out of the former Peterborough United striker due to the environment at AFC Wimbledon being perfect for Stevens at this point in his career.

At Walsall, he was thrust under the spotlight way too early on his way back from the injury, being held as a beacon of hope alongside Jamille Matt, with the hope being that the pair could rediscover their partnership formed at Forest Green, which never truly came to fruition in the end and meant a disappointing 16th place finish following his half a season at the Bescot Stadium.

And back at Forest Green, he was in a team and at a club that approached bouncing straight back up following relegation from League One in completely the wrong way.

He was often left on the bench when Troy Deeney was lining up for Rovers, and once the former Watford striker stepped back from playing duties at the club, Stevens was then expected to pick up the pieces as the sole striker in a 4-3-3 formation, which did not result in too many more goals as the Gloucestershire club slid down the League Two table.

However, at Plough Lane with the Dons, he has been integrated into a four-man group of strikers, each with their own qualities, and each with a point to prove, making it a highly competitive environment that is only going to bring the best out of players.

And getting the best out of players is exactly what Wimbledon are doing with Stevens, as allowing him to find his feet slowly and not thrusting him in and expecting the most has meant that Wimbledon have got that predatory striker that many grew to know at Forest Green a few seasons back.

He has also been given the faith of the manager, first proved when Johnnie Jackson approached him again this summer following the previous attempt, and now being backed up with the selection of him in the return back to Plough Lane following the flooding of the ground.

Away from the player side of things too, Wimbledon truly did get the best deal out of this transfer saga which almost stretches back two years now. The club showed a rare sign of patience and let a better opportunity come around to sign a previous target, instead of throwing the idea of signing them away as soon as they were rejected the first time round.

While Walsall filled, and arguably wasted, a loan spot with an unfit, unprepared forward back in 2022, Forest Green lost out on capturing any money for a striker that only a few years ago was scoring nearly 30 goals in a season as he headed to the Dons for nothing.

So really, the tale of Stevens' failed transfer back in 2022 is not the typical 'Wimbledon being screwed over by a player or a club' and is instead a rather interesting look into what can happen when the stars align and a player arrives at a club at the perfect time for both parties.