Dons' desire for wide men is attracting attention

MK Dons have been offered a '˜world class winger' but have set their sights on two young wide men before the transfer window closes.
Pete Winkelman and Karl Robinson.
Pic: Lee ScrivenPete Winkelman and Karl Robinson.
Pic: Lee Scriven
Pete Winkelman and Karl Robinson. Pic: Lee Scriven

Karl Robinson has added eight new faces to his side this summer but wants to make it double figures before the end of the month.

He has been keen on landing two wingers, but missed out on Rob Hall after the former Bolton man turned down Dons in favour of Oxford United last month.

Read More
Rob Hall’s departure leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for Robinson

And his desire to bring in quality rather than quantity at this stage means he’s happy to sit on his hands until the right player becomes available, even though he has been offered top players to bring to Stadium MK.

“We’ve been offered two or three wingers this week,” Robinson confirmed. “One of them was a world class winger in his day but he’s coming towards the end now, and the other was a top Championship winger. But we’re not sure whether they’re past the age we want them.

“The two players I want are about 21 and are on the up. Hopefully, we can bring them in and become a better squad.

“We still need to bring in two wingers, but we’re just playing the waiting game at the moment. We know who they are, but they aren’t mine so I can’t talk about them.”

Ten days before the season began, Dons had signed just five players to replace the 13 departures from their relegated Championship squad. But late additions of keeper Lee Nicholls, defender Scott Wootton and record signing Kieran Agard have gone some way towards calming the storms brewing over the Cowshed.

With signings seeming few and far between until that point, Robinson admitted he too felt frustrated at the lack of pace when it came to getting deals over the line.

He said: “It has been a slow summer but it’s getting better. If we could have done deals three weeks earlier, we may have been up and running, but if we’d done it three weeks ago, the players I want to bring in might not have been available. The players we could have got aren’t as good as the ones we’ve got.

“If we’d started poorly, people would ask which direction we’re really going in.”

The eight he has brought in though will all play key roles this season according to the boss, who believes Dons’ shrewd business in the market will pay dividends.

“We’ve brought in two centre halves and Kieran Agard came in for the price of Kyle McFadzean.

“It is really clever business by the chairman and recruitment team in relation to balancing books. This is the most money I’ve ever had as a budget. It’s still a top six budget. But it’s not about that now, it’s about whether we can get the most value on the pitch. All of our money is in 16 players.

“We’ve got the most efficient 16 players - we’ve got more in less.”