AFC Wimbledon: Johnnie Jackson faces fork in the road after Lyle Taylor resolution – View | OneFootball

With Lyle Taylor now a Colchester United player for the 24/25 season, Johnnie Jackson faces a decision over who to sign as his fourth striker

Highlights

Lyle Taylor's return back to AFC Wimbledon was not meant to be, with the Montserrat international now a confirmed player for the 24/25 season at Colchester United.

With this missed signature, it now presents Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson with not only questions about not signing Taylor, but also, who he is going to choose as another striking option in his squad.

The Dons will still have plenty of options to choose from with the summer window not yet a month old but may have to pay a fee for any future signing, something they would not have had to do with Taylor.

Why AFC Wimbledon and Johnnie Jackson did not opt to sign Lyle Taylor

There may be a million reasons why the club, Jackson, and Taylor did not choose to reunite and create even more history together, but you do feel that Jackson and the staff at the club may have had doubts surrounding his playing time in recent seasons, and whether he can still be counted on in League Two.

Since 2021, Taylor has not completed more than 20 matches in a season and even missed the entirety of the 2022/23 season, not signing for any club following his release from Nottingham Forest.

He did manage to get some games under his belt in the season just gone, playing for both Wycombe Wanderers and Cambridge United, both of League One.

In his time at both of the clubs, he only scored three times, with all of those strikes coming while he was at Cambridge.

Taylor had expressed at the beginning of June, once knowing that he was leaving the Abbey Stadium, that he was open to rejoining the Dons, something that many Dons fans welcomed, considering what happened the last time the Montserrat international signed.

However, it is now clear that that sentiment was not echoed by the likes of Johnnie Jackson and Director of Football Craig Cope, and now other targets, or possibly other ideas tactically, will now be explored with a big season on the horizon for the Dons.

Possible targets or tactics Johnnie Jackson could now employ

Now that Taylor is off the mind of both fans and staff alike, the next question is, who, if anyone, should the Dons choose as their fourth striking option for the 2024/25 season.

The most recent target that could potentially move to the Dons this week, if reports are to be believed, is another former favourite, in the form of Joe Piggott.

Pete O'Rourke and Football Insider both reported on Tuesday that Piggott, who currently plays for Leyton Orient, could be heading to Wimbledon on loan, with the potential of the transfer becoming permanent next summer, when Piggott's contract at Orient expires.

He has not had a great time since leaving the Dons back in 2021, with spells at Ipswich Town, Portsmouth, and now Orient, all not being very fruitful for the 30-year-old, and this could put Jackson off turning to another fan favourite.

If Jackson and his transfer team want to employ a striker that has been much more successful in front of goal, they would not do much better than signing Harry Cardwell from troubled Southend United. The 27-year-old has had a good spell at the Shrimpers, building up his game time and goals since signing for the Essex-based side in 2021, with 23/24 his highest scoring so far.

It would be understandable though if Jackson and Wimbledon do not want to spend all the cash they have recently gained through outgoings and clauses being activated in deals involving former players, and therefore, they could look at Crystal Palace youngster Ademola Ola-Adebomi.

He has been in great form for Palace's U21 side in recent years, and got his first taste of senior football last term at Burton Albion, where he only scored once in 14 games, with only seven being starts.

While he has not got the goals behind him yet to be considered a great goalscorer, he would be a good pick-up by the Dons, with the club having experienced success with former Palace youngsters Kofi Balmer and John Kymani-Gordon last season, and using their links with the Eagles again to all but secure the signing of Owen Goodman for the 24/25 season, according to reports.

Of course, there may be no further signings up front, with Jackson potentially happy with only three strikers, which could be a signal that he is favouring a new system in what he hopes to be a promotion-winning season.

The former Spurs and Charlton man could transform the Dons playing style next season by opting for a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, requiring only one striker, and with Matty Stevens joining Omar Bugiel and Josh Kelly, there may be no room for a fourth option.

However, that all remains to be seen, as for the moment, the Dons have stayed very quiet on the transfer front. Even with their newfound funds, there has not been a slew of spending but rather carefully handpicked transfers.