Crewe skipper Offord opts to make MK Dons switch

Defender Luke Offord felt it was time for a change as he turned down Crewe Alexandra’s offer to stay in favour of a move to MK Dons.

The 24-year-old defender leaves the Alexandra Stadium having first joined the club at seven, earning his first professional deal 11 years later, racking up 170 appearances for the Railwaymen.

But after seeing the side miss out on promotion via the play-offs last season, beaten at Wembley by Dons’ humblers Crawley Town, Offord said it was time for a change as he completed the switch to Stadium MK to become Mike Williamson’s second signing of the summer.

“I've been at Crewe Alexandra since I was seven-years-old,” he said. “Seventeen years is a long time at a football club, and they have made me the player I am today. I might not have got this opportunity to come to a massive club like MK Dons.

“Obviously, I'm far from home, but I wanted to make that next step, be at this club and hopefully get promoted in the upcoming season.

“Driving here to this huge stadium, I just can't wait to go out there and play in front of the fans.”

After signing his first contract with Crewe, he made his debut in 2020 to help them to secure promotion from League Two. By 2022, the centre-back was a regular and was made captain of the side.

Missing the end of the season through an ankle injury, Offord said discussions over his future were made easier when he met with the Dons head coach, who convinced him to make the switch this summer.

Offord continued: “The initial talks I had with Mike explained the style of play and I think that it really suits me. The meeting I had with Mike and hearing him explain how he wants his players to play out of possession and in possession, I think it was something that appealed to me a lot

“I'm a young defender that's come through the academy at Crewe. I'm quite an aggressive defender, try to win the ball back and with the ball at my feet I like to think I'm quite calm. I like the style of the play the gaffer wants to put in place here and being brought up playing football at Crewe I think it will suit me quite well.

“One of the main reasons I wanted to come here was to fight for promotion. It's a club with ambition, I like looking forward and I just want to fight for promotion.”