January 9, 2025

Nearly a year has passed since AFC Wimbledon bought Josh Kelly as part of their replacement plan after Ali Al-Hamadi was traded to Ipswich Town.

Furthermore, it has just not happened despite the encouragement and aspirations of several supporters for him to perform well, establish form, score goals, and settle at the club—his first in the EFL.

 

Given that the January transfer window is quickly approaching, it could make sense for everyone if Johnnie Jackson is able to find Kelly a loan move and bring in some attacking talent on a short-term basis.

Suffice to say, it has just not been the twelve months that Kelly, or indeed anyone of a Wimbledon persuasion, would have hoped for upon his signing.

Having seen his highlights reel, many were expecting a pacy, fox-in-the-box type striker, who was all action and could score goals from pretty much anything, a rarity to find in football.

However, that ‘scoring goals from anywhere’ has been quite the opposite, with the former Solihull Moors striker just not finding the net and clearly at a loss for confidence.

He did have two perfect opportunities, on one of his first appearances at Plough Lane, to open his account for the club, but, as some fans may be able to recall, he was snuffed out twice by the keeper, and from there it just has not got too much better.

Aside from the well-taken goal against Bromley in the Carabao Cup this season and the double against Tranmere Rovers at the conclusion of last season, the 25-year-old has not scored, played consistently, or regained his former confidence. Although he had a strong preseason and scored two goals, including a spectacular finish against Charlton Athletic, any seasoned football fan will tell you that friendly games are worthless.

Matty Stevens AFC Wimbledon

What must happen, then, for Kelly to regain his self-assurance and, more importantly, some steady play that will persuade Jackson and the Dons that he deserves another chance?

Well, Wimbledon supporters have a slightly different perspective than a ruthless, business-first team whose supporters have the same mindset, which may just scream “sell him.” The majority of supporters are aware that Kelly cost a lot of money, and it would be a stupid and reactive move to just cut losses in the transfer market when the team was already in debt from the construction of Plough Lane.

Instead, what should occur is the offering of the striker out on a loan deal until the end of the season, giving him a chance to begin to find the net again, perhaps at a lower level, and more importantly, get the gametime and confidence back that he has clearly lost while being with Wimbledon.

Ideally, he would go to a National League side, preferably one of those that are currently fighting it out near the top, and perhaps local too. However, if he does truly want to test himself and get Jackson’s attention, then maybe going to a struggling League Two side and seeing if he can spark a change could be a good move to make.

Declaring that Kelly needs to go on loan to get his bearings is quite simple, but deciding who will take the attacker’s position is a little trickier.

With Matty Stevens and Omar Bugiel and Joe Pigott and Kelly providing the same ‘little striker, big striker’ dynamic, there is currently balance among the four strikers. However, each player contributes special talents to the team, and if the latter were to leave the quartet, the competition and chemistry might feel a little fragmented.

Because of this, the simple solution to the problem would be to trust the academy’s offerings—and Aron Sasu in particular.

The Norweigan, who was born in Croydon, has played in attack during his time with the young team. He was even playing more forward during his brief first-team appearances.

Aron Sasu AFC Wimbledon

Some of the offensive nous may have been lost, though, as he was switched back into a left wing-back position during preseason, which seemed to fit him well. It is clear why it might not be the best idea to entrust him with replacing Kelly in that role, especially considering that he has been sidelined for an undetermined period of time due to injury since the beginning of the season.

 

Instead, Wimbledon, despite their slight financial restrictions, should look to bring in a loan of their own, with the name of Jemiah Umolu being a player that the Dons could target.

The 19-year-old is currently at the Crystal Palace academy, and so far this season, he has netted nine goals in the ten appearances he has made in the competitions that Palace’s youth setup currently compete in.

Not only has he been consistently finding the net and sitting atop the current Premier League 2’s scoring charts, topping it with eight goals, but he has also netted against League Two opposition during this campaign, scoring against Gillingham in the EFL Trophy during a 3-1 win.

The young Englishman does seem an even more attainable target when you take into consideration the fact that on Jackson’s first-team staff, Dave Reddington, the current first-team coach, originally coached at Crystal Palace and has likely got a plethora of contacts there. Add to this that Owen Goodman is also on loan from Palace and is, at present, one of many stars within the Dons’ team, and it does make the club an exciting prospect to join from a player such as Umolu.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *