The ‘mayhem’ of the January window is now a little over a month away

The transfer window reopens in a little over a month but how busy MK Dons are will entirely depend on how the next few weeks pan out.

The return of Aaron Collins and Gethin Jones have brought much-welcomed reinforcements to the squad, with the likes of Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, Scott Hogan and Kane Wilson also looming on the horizon to bolster Paul Warne’s selection options.

Welcoming back those five, most of whom have barely featured for Dons this season, ahead of the January sales could be seen as a mini-window in itself for Warne ahead of the actual window reopening, with the head coach being able to see what his full strength side looks like before committing to targets he might want, if any, for the second-half of the campaign.

“You don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve got everything,” he said. “I could think we look great somewhere but if the two players who are out and don’t reach the heights, we have to reconsider everything.

“Our remit is to get this team promoted by the end of the season. If we see fault in what we’ve done, selected or signed, we have to look at January and be able to change. There is no point putting players on pedestals and they don’t fulfil what I think they can do.”

Plenty of managers up and down the division have already waxed lyrical about Warne’s options - the latest being Fleetwood boss Pete Wild - in it’s current form even before the potential to add to it in January.

And Warne has suggested he would still be confident heading into the New Year and beyond should January come and go without any business being done.

He continued: “No fan ever wants to hear this but if I went through January and didn’t sign anyone, that’s fine. I think this group has enough, with a bit of luck, to be competitive all season. I’m fortunate though to know if we need to bolster or change, or some players don’t feel they are getting the game time, there is room to wiggle.

“The January window is mayhem. It’s there to erase the mistakes you made in the summer. If you didn’t get the player you wanted, you desperately try to get them in January. If you sign a player in the summer who hasn’t worked, you try and change it.

“Unfortunately, the January window is expensive. All the players are under contract, so there’s always an added element to it. If their parent club doesn’t want to sell, then it isn’t happening, you can’t force it. That makes it a lot more difficult.

“I could give you a list of players I wanted in January, you kept it in a vault and then looked at the end of January, I might not have signed any of them. You go into the month being informed of who is available, but it changes so quickly. I’ve signed plenty of players in January who, in December, definitely weren’t available. January is an exhausting window, but it’s good if you don’t need a lot.

“If we don’t need to sign anyone, we won’t, and I’ve told the owner that. But any signings have to make us better. Hopefully we’ll only strengthen where we need to.”