Expectations must be realistic for long-term prospect Brown

Patience will be the name of the game for striker Charlie Brown after the youngster signed from Chelsea earlier this week.

The 21-year-old has not played a lot of football this season, having barely been used by Belgian club Union SG during his loan spell before contracting Covid before Christmas.

While he arrives at a time when Dons are in need of bodies in their front line, with Carlton Morris and Ste Walker both having their loan-spells ended, Martin insists Brown is a signing - for considerably less than reported elsewhere - for years to come rather than to make an immediate impact.

Martin said: "Charlie is a really exciting one. He needs a bit of time to get up to speed. He had Covid then he has Christmas off with Chelsea academy when they shut down, so he needs a few weeks to get up to speed. He will be a part of the squad because I think he could make an impact. He's got fantastic movement, he's a really good finisher, and I'm really pleased because he turned down other offers to sign here.

"He's a really good signing because he'll help us this season, but he's a long term one. I want to make sure expectations are realistic. He's not ready to hit the ground running, but he's working really hard to get up to speed really quickly."