Dons are still keen to make moves in the transfer window
Signing another striker in the transfer window will not solve all of MK Dons’ problems this season but it remains top of their priority list.
Though both Jonathan Leko an Mo Eisa have opened their accounts this term already, Graham Alexander said a frontman remains very much on his shopping list, along with a couple of others too to help him bolster the depth available to him in his matchday squad.With the window due to close on Friday September 1, the head coach said discussions between himself and Sporting Director Liam Sweeting are neigh on constant as they hunt down their main targets.
And though a striker is their top priority, Alexander said it is not the be all and end all..“It’s important to have competition throughout the team, and that ability to bring on subs to help improve our performance and see out a winning margin or get us back into a game.
“It’s a squad game, not just about the starting line-up, so it’s important we have competition and variable options to be able to play any game.”
The head coach also did not rule out the potential for more outgoings during the window
He added: “I’ve always kept an open mind about that. There are players we obviously want to keep, but there are also players on the periphery that either want to step up and play or see their futures elsewhere.
“We don’t want players who don’t want to be here. But if there are players who do want to move on, we have valuations for that.
“You never know what’s around the corner in the transfer window, but we know we’ve got a core group of players we know we can win with but there is improvement to be had.
“This is a meritocracy, and if you can help the team, you can play.”
“We’re on the lookout for more than just a striker,” he admitted. “One striker won’t fix everything.
MK Dons are facing a difficult transfer market in their striker hunt/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66084238/1183022044.jpg.0.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Graham Alexander said he is facing a lot of competition in the transfer market as MK Dons look to add strength in depth to their squad before the window closes.
While seven have moved to Stadium MK this summer, the head coach is keen to bring in more bodies. In his three games in charge so far, Alexander has only made two substitutions in each, using a total of just 14 players.A target-man style striker is high on the priority list for Alexander, as well as depth elsewhere on the field. Having faces Wrexham, Wycombe and Tranmere so far, Dons have come up against the type of physical front man in various guises topping the wish-list.
But the head coach admitted the market for that sort of player is a busy one, with several clubs also vying for similar players.
“It’s a really difficult market and there are a lot of competitors out there for players,” he said. “The type of players we’re trying to get are coveted by others, and their own clubs.
“It’s a difficult one but hopefully players can see what we’re trying to do here, and will be joining a squad which is highly motivated, together and ambitious. Hopefully, we can attract that sort of player.
“We’ve played three games against different opposition and they’ve all had someone in there like that. Someone to get you up the pitch and to cause problems. Some have started with them, some have brought them off the bench.
“But we haven’t got that type of player but we still have enough to win games of football.”
He added: “What we’d like though is a squad to tick all the boxes. You won’t have a player who will tick the all, so you need a squad of players who have pace, technical ability, strength, experience, youth, energy. We need to tick all those boxes.
“There are areas we have to improve to get a full arsenal to take on anyone every week.”
