Baldwin excites Martin in his first week at MK Dons

Defender Aden Baldwin arrived in a whirlwind prior to MK Dons first pre-season game last week against King's Lynn Town, but his performances so far have endeared him to manager Russell Martin.

The 24-year-old barely kicked a ball through injury last season, being released by Bristol City at the end of last season without ever playing a game for the Robins after signing as a youngster in 2016.

Impressing during the second hour against King's Lynn, Baldwin also gave a good account of himself against Maidenhead on Saturday in Dons' behind-closed-doors match playing alongside Harry Darling, who returned from an injury to make his pre-season debut.

With Dons' defensive ranks already looking pretty full, Baldwin's arrival was considered to be something of a squad booster, but so far, Martin has been impressed by what he has seen from his latest signing.

"Aden has been brilliant since he came in," said the manager. "His mentality and intensity he has shown in training, the understanding of what we're trying to get him to do in a short period gives us a lot of confidence.

"Aden is a great signing for us, he's just going to get better and better, and we'll see where it can take us."

Having already added six players to his squad, Martin said he is still keen to bring in new faces, with the obvious area being up front, where he can still only boast three strikers on the books - Charlie Brown, Jay Bird and Cardiff loanee Max Watters.

He said: "There are still a couple of areas we need to add in, which is obvious, but I'm really happy with the guys who have come in already."