AFC Wimbledon and Johnnie Jackson transfer approach so far isn't sexy, but it makes total sense | OneFootball

Dons fans have not experienced a particularly exciting window, but thanks to on-pitch performances, that is perfectly understandable

Compared to a few of the past January transfer windows for AFC Wimbledon, this year's has been extremely quiet.

With only the addition of Marcus Browne and a contract renewal, until the end of the season, for Sam Hutchinson following the expiry of his short-term deal at the club, the Dons have been extremely shrewd with their funds.

But given the quality already on the pitch and in the squad, as well as how brilliant the performances continue to be, the relative silence from the South London club all makes sense and should, for once, not be a reason to worry.

Johnnie Jackson has not been rushed into any deals this window

As has been in the past, the arrival of the January window has usually meant that a well-performing star will be sold, and the Dons are left scrambling around trying to find an adequate replacement, which has had mixed results.

However, this window, there has not been a whiff of a frantic nature, with Jackson finally seeming to have a good hold on his squad, and a steadfast approach to keeping absolutely everyone involved in the promotion fight together.

This has meant that he has not been rushed into making any silly or peculiar moves in the window, and has allowed him to simply move for, and pick up, two talents whose skillsets lie right at the top of League Two level, potentially even League One.

He, firstly, made sure to renew Hutchinson's contract until the end of the campaign, as not only are the leadership qualities he showed when stepping onto the pitch during the Dons' mini-injury crisis going to be indispensable during a tough fight for promotion with many other top quality, in form sides.

But his tough-tackling and energetic qualities also bring a bite to a Wimbledon side that already had a high-quality defence and midfield, but just lacked the nastiness and craftiness that is sometimes needed in the physically-natured fourth tier.

Jackson then made sure to replace the outgoing Romaine Sawyers, who had performed well during his short stint in yellow and blue, with a player that was certainly a risk, but a risk worth taking, as Marcus Browne, despite his injury troubles, has shown in two glimpses in a Dons shirt, that he can bring even more electricity to the Wimbledon attack.

While Sawyers was silky on the ball and had a touch of experienced class about him, Browne seems to have been a well-researched step-up, despite being six years his junior, with his ability to carry the ball confidently, meaning the Dons no longer have to throw the ball away by hopefully launching it over the opposition defence, and his ability to do the unexpected something that the team has seriously lacked since Ayoub Assal departed two years ago.

So, while this minimal business, which did happen right at the start of January too, has been a bit boring and not as attractive to watch from the outside looking in, it has meant that, for once, a lot of Dons fans can look forward to a second half of a season with the same squad that enjoyed watching in the first, just with a couple of new, and arguably brilliant, faces added in to make promotion happens.

Johnnie Jackson's sensible approach to January will be rewarded

Despite there being wants and wishes from fans at the end of 2024 and the start of this month about who they wanted to come in and who they wanted to leave, Jackson's practical approach of keeping the squad together, despite its slight negatives, will see a return at the end of the season.

Currently, Wimbledon lie sixth in the table, following on from a well-fought, but slightly disappointing, point earned at Crewe Alexandra earlier in the week, and that is thanks to the fact that the Dons boss has kept his squad together, and fighting toward the same goal.

Instead of madly recruiting to top up the depth of the squad to combat any incoming injury troubles in the second half of the season, the former Charlton manager has put faith in his rotational options, at the right time, and has let them shine to make sure that should he need to rely on them, he knows who he can pick in his staring XIs.

And all this will be rewarded at the end of the campaign, as on the current run of form, there is not an opponent that will be feared by the Dons, and the results will speak for themselves.

There is a high likelihood that this will finally be the season that the Dons do escape from League Two, and it will be down to just how logical yet uninspiring this January window has been.

So, hopefully, there will be lessons learned from this year that are implemented in the future that will mean a change in fortune in the coming years for Wimbledon, and potentially some very memorable seasons.