'Toney-esque' striker the dangerman for Wimbledon, says South London Press' Edmund Brack | OneFootball

Brentford need to keep a close eye on AFC Wimbledon striker Omar Bugiel, who has a similar playing style to Bees striker Ivan Toney, during their opening pre-season fixture of the 2024/25 season says South London Press' Edmund Brack.

Bugiel netted 13 goals and recorded five assists in 41 League Two appearances last term, which included a hat-trick on the final day of last term, and his physicality will be a good test for the defenders selected by head coach Thomas Frank at Plough Lane on Saturday.

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AFC Wimbledon’s pre-season is in full swing already: they’ve already been away to Spain and will have played two friendlies before they welcome Brentford to Plough Lane. What have you made of how it’s gone and what’s to come?

I would say it has gone okay so far. The main priority for any team in League One and League Two, especially when you’re handing out one and two-year contracts, is about building the squad over pre-season. Last year, they had about 80 per cent of their business done by the time they went out to Spain to play Reading, but it has felt a little bit slower this time around.

They lost Ali Al-Hamadi in January, who is a really difficult player to replace, and Jack Currie this summer, who was really instrumental last season.

They have brought Joe Pigott back to the club, which is going to be a really big boost for the fanbase as he was exceptional during his time at Plough Lane before moving on to Ipswich in 2021. He has not quite hit the heights he probably would have hoped for since leaving, but coming back to help the club try to get out of the division will be quite a good challenge for him - the Wimbledon fans will be hoping that him coming back to a familiar environment will bring goals back to his game.

It has been an interesting one at the other end of the pitch as well because they lost both goalkeepers over the summer and have revamped that department, which has taken a bit of time to build.

So it has been a bit of a slow burner in terms of getting their squad together and it does not really feel like pre-season has truly kicked off for them yet.

What have you made of their business and what do they still need to add?

Myles Hippolyte from Stockport County is an interesting one as he is someone who knows what it takes to win the division, as it he did it last season. Wimbledon and Stockport have a really good relationship; players that have come in from there have done really well in the past.

Matty Stevens is someone who scored a hatful of goals for Forest Green Rovers when they won promotion from League Two a couple of years ago. He suffered that really cruel ACL injury towards the end of that campaign and missed out on the Golden Boot, so he is hungry to replicate that form. He is a player Wimbledon have chased before and they have now managed to get him on a free transfer, which is a really good bit of business.

Callum Maycock has come in from Solihull Moors after doing really well at National League level, but the question is whether he can step up to League Two level. I do not think there is a huge gap between League Two and the top half of the National League, so I would suspect he would be able to come in and do well.

Apart from that, it has been a bit quiet. They are still after quite a few players, so I would expect more business to be done.

The Jack Currie sale to Oxford United was probably the biggest blow for them. I do not think they were expecting to lose him, but when a Championship club comes calling for a 22-year-old who has played nearly 100 games for the club, it is seen as being in the best interests of all parties to move on.

That set them back a little bit so they will need to build their squad ahead of a third campaign in League Two, where they will be looking at it and thinking they have a good chance of getting promotion back to League One.

What’s the mood like among the fans after the Dons came so close to reaching the play-offs last season?

It is much more positive. They have got some really good foundations. The centre-back partnership with Joe Lewis and Ryan Johnson is pretty formidable for that level - they formed the best defence in the division with 16 clean sheets, which is a really good achievement in League Two.

They were just five points off the play-offs in the end and I think it was a little bit of a missed opportunity, purely because they looked competitive in every outing I watched them in; they took on Ipswich and beat Portsmouth in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

You looked at the team and thought there was a real chance of them doing something, especially in January when Omar Bugiel was scoring quite freely compared to what he has done before. There was a real hope they were going to get it over the line but, though they just missed out, it was a vast improvement on the second half of the season before.

Heading into Johnnie Jackson’s third season in charge, I would say there is a sense of optimism about what they can do and where they can be because, in my mind, this looks like the best opportunity they have had to go up again.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye on on Saturday?

Bugiel is a really good striker at League Two level. He has wonderful technical ability and provides a real physical presence, which is a tiny bit Ivan Toney-esque.

Obviously Toney is playing at a much higher level, but the way he leads the line for Wimbledon is probably just as valuable to the way they play.

Aron Sasu is a player I really like as well. He is a youngster who I think will go on to have a really good career in the game.

How is Johnnie Jackson likely to set up at Plough Lane?

It is tough to tell because they have lost a few players and a few new players have come in. He likes to play with a diamond sometimes and he did often play a 4-2-2-2 last season.

What’s your score prediction?

I’m going to go for a 1-0 Wimbledon win as this is Brentford’s first test and they will still be trying to pick up speed, while Wimbledon have played a couple of games now.