Who is MK Dons' latest signing Ethan Robson?

Ethan Robson has signed a season-long loan deal with MK Dons from Blackpool.

The 24-year-old was a regular for Blackpool last season, making 37 appearances for the Tangerines before making the switch to Stadium MK.

Robson began his career at his home town club Sunderland signing for them as an eight-year-old. Rising through the ranks at the Stadium of Light, Robson made his Black Cats debut in 2017 as a 20-year-old, where he'd go on to make nine appearances in the Championship.

Unable to establish himself in the Sunderland side though and with opportunities few and far between, Robson joined Dundee United on loan in Janury 2019. He made 13 appearances in the Scottish Premier League before spending the start of 2019/20 on loan at Grimsby. A regular for the Mariners, he was recalled by Sunderland in January 2020, but was released at the end of the season.

He was quickly snapped up by League One Blackpool, and helped them secure promotion via the play-off final to the Championship.

Matt Scrafton, who watched Robson in action last season for the Blackpool Gazette, said of Robson: "He's a midfielder that likes to get on the ball. He'll drop deep and is often the player that collects the ball from the centre-backs to begin attacks. He's got a good left foot on him and is capable of the odd long-range screamer.

"He started the season as a first-team regular but from January onwards he usually found himself on the bench. Blackpool brought in Kenny Dougall in October and then Kevin Stewart in January, who both moved ahead of him in the pecking order. Grant Ward was another standout performer last season in midfield and would be preferred to Robson, while Matty Virtue was another option before he picked up a serious injury. So he would have found himself fifth choice had he stayed this season.

"Recent signing Callum Connolly, a defender, can also play in midfield, so Blackpool fans aren't overly surprised to see him leave. That's not to say he performed poorly or did anything wrong though, but he just needs regular game time and League One seems to be the most natural fit. MK should be a good fit for him as well because of their style of play.

"One criticism of Robson is that he might not get around the pitch as well as some others, which is obviously a major thing coaches look out for now with the way they want to press. That's not to say he's slow or sluggish, it's just not his forte so to speak, as he prefers to sit back and control games in possession of the ball.

"Neil Critchley is a big proponent of working hard out of possession though, so that might explain why he didn't see as much game time towards the end of the season as he did previously.

"When he did come off the bench, he would largely be used as a number 10 to roam in-between the lines."