![Prost International [PINT]](https://prostinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/PINTtFontLogoRoboto1536x78.jpg)
If you were to speak to MK Dons supporters, you would hear that their side begins 2022 in arguably their best and most stable position in years.
Sitting seventh in the League One table, four points outside of the play-off places with a game in hand on the sides above, Dons manager Liam Manning will be elated with his side’s resilience shown on Boxing Day after a 3-2 win against Lincoln City.
Having fallen 2-0 behind within the first eight minutes and being thoroughly outplayed in the first half, MK Dons rallied to earn all three points thanks to goals from Matt O’Riley and a Scott Twine brace.
Despite the positivity amongst the camp, there is one area in Manning’s squad which is lacking in depth.
Within the last 24 hours, striker Max Watters who has been on loan in Buckinghamshire from Cardiff City has been recalled by the Welsh outfit given their current struggles in the Championship.
With the Bluebirds having failed to secure a victory in December, it is no surprise that they have taken the decision given the form of the 22-year-old, who has scored six goals in his last seven appearances in all competitions.
Without Watters, the Dons will be reliant on Mo Eisa and Troy Parrott to provide the forward options until a replacement can be brought in to bolster the squad.
So far this season, Eisa has netted on five occasions but has also let a number of gilt-edged chances slip by, something that has not gone unnoticed. The Sundanese international clearly has a lot of potential and promise, but with his displays for the Dons, the touch-paper is yet to be lit.
For Parrott, initially, he hit the straps with a blistering start to the campaign before waning in form to the point where he reached his low of being dismissed with a straight red card at Leyton Orient in the Papa John’s Trophy. Despite this, it appears that the Spurs loanee could be returning to the player he was back in September after putting in a decent performance against the Imps.
Whilst the Buckinghamshire outfit have endured a COVID-19 outbreak, they have managed fairly well only seeing one game postponed and go into 2022 with a healthy squad keen to push higher up the table.
For the immediate future, it remains a case of which players they can keep at Stadium MK ahead of a tough second half of the season.
In recent years, the Dons have lost influential figures in the January transfer window such as Richard Keogh, Regan Poole and George Williams. Manning will be hoping that this window does not follow the same trend as the previous ones.
There has been no denial of former manager Russell Martin’s admiration of goalkeeper Andrew Fisher, centre-back Harry Darling and creative midfielder Matt O’Riley, three players he signed whilst at MK Dons and there have been persistent links of his desire to reunite with the players at Swansea City.
Although the rumours seem most strongly attached to O’Riley and Fisher, with not only Swansea but Huddersfield Town among the interested parties, the potential estimates seem to be around the £6-7 million figure required to prize the trio to join him in Wales, but the Dons’ Director of Football Liam Sweeting will be keen to keep the three come February 1st.
If it does so happen that any of these depart, it will be incredibly important that there are ready-made replacements able to come in and enter the fray from the get-go.
There has been speculation in the last week of interest in Brighton and Hove Albion under-23s midfielder Marc Leonard, arriving on loan for the remainder of the campaign. With four loanees at the club, there is room in the squad for one more so there may well be truth to the rumour.
What we do know for certain is that come kick-off against Gillingham on New Year’s Day, the future for MK Dons looks a lot rosier, and from the fans perspective hopefully less tumultuous than the previous 12 months.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
