Despite not receiving much attention, AFC Wimbledon and Owen Goodman’s victories from the previous season were among the greatest EFL success stories.
Wimbledon should be at the top of many high-tier teams’ lists because of the young goalkeeper’s development, which has led to his consideration for international honours even if he was not fully called up to the England U21 Euros group for this summer.
As a result, the Dons should have some intriguing loan-dealing options to assist them avoid relegation in their first season back in League One.
Owen Goodman’s development has shown Wimbledon is a great club for young talent
on his first full season of men’s football, Goodman had a rough season at Colchester United. While Colchester supporters made fun of Dons supporters on the social media comments section of his announcement, no one could have predicted how great he would end up becoming.
Although the season’s first few months were undoubtedly rocky, Goodman had established himself as a mainstay in goal and was starting to demonstrate his ability in the goalie position by the time winter arrived.
He received even more praise during a lengthy run of clean sheets during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, which demonstrated that a great player could be discovered with the right coaches and enough time, care, attention, and most crucially, patience. By the end of the season, Goodman’s loan stint had been a huge success, as evidenced by another clean sheet at Wembley, a golden glove, and—most importantly—promotion.
And it is that great blend of coaches that Wimbledon have, with goalkeeping coach Ashley “Bayzo” Bayes being particularly helpful in Goodman’s case, being just one alongside Dave Reddington, who has great connections with Crystal Palace, Terry Skiverton and, of course, the main man, Johnnie Jackson.
All seemed aligned in the desire to put faith into youth if they feel their mentality is right, and at a time when it feels only a select few youngsters are breaking into top sides in the UK, to have a club with the type of setup that Wimbledon have demonstrates why they should now be entrusted with growing and blossoming some of the best academy prospects that English clubs have to offer.
It is not just Goodman who has proved that they are an excellent club for loan talent, as some of the Dons’ own academy breakthroughs have gone on to have careers that are young, but impressive. The likes of Jack Rudoni and Jack Currie have been recent examples that shone in the first team, but many others have gone on to establish themselves as potential breakout stars, with the likes of Leon Chiwome and Spike Brits being just two from a long list.
AFC Wimbledon should have pick of the loan market this summer
So with the success of Goodman last season, plus a history of the club being a perfect team for youth development, it should go without saying that Johnnie Jackson’s side should be awash with some of the best talents needing to be tested in the third tier.
There will obviously need to be a blend of experience in their, but there are equally some talents that should be high up on the enquiry list that Johnnie Jackson, Director of Football Craig Cope and Chief Scout Andy Thorn have built ahead of this window.
A few Dons supporters have already started bouncing names online, including Crystal Palace’s Jemiah Umolu and Danny Imray. Given that the Dons are a league higher than the Ravens and that they urgently need a right-sided wing-back after Josh Neufville left, Imray, who had an incredible season on loan at local rivals Bromley, ought to be much higher on the list now.
Along with Ademola Ola-Adebomi, who has also been linked to the Dons in the past, Umolu, 19, is the Eagles’ equal top scorer in Premier League 2, one of many talents that have excelled in the league this season.
