AFC Wimbledon transfer clamour could come after Barrow, Walsall clashes | OneFootball

Lincoln City loanee Alistair Smith could make big impact on his future this summer with impressive performances in upcoming games

Alistair Smith's season-long loan at AFC Wimbledon has certainly been one of great interest.

The 25-year-old started life at the Dons, playing in a system that bought himself and the team much success.

But through enforced changes and continuous playing without much rest, Smith's form started to ebb and flow inconsistently.

However, over the last few games, the loanee has begun to show that early-season quality again, and, given that the summer window will soon be approaching round the corner, the upcoming matches are not only big for Wimbledon and their promotion chances, but also for Smith and his future.

Alistair Smith's up-and-down 2024/25 League Two campaign

On the face of it, Smith's campaign this year has been strong. He is only behind Josh Neufville in terms of minutes for outfield players this season, and his four goals and four assists from the middle of the park highlight that he has a good output this season.

However, those goal-involvement stats have only improved in the last few games, with the former Colchester United midfielder having suffered from very inconsistent form during the mid-season.

Smith kicked off this season by showing his Patrick Vieira-esque presence in midfield, winning plenty of plaudits for his quiet, tidy and often effortless work in midfield, and by the end of October, he had collected his first two assists in yellow and blue. He would then only have to wait until the middle of November to strike his first AFC Wimbledon goal before collecting another only a few weeks later as the calenders flipped over in December.

However, since that point, and up until very recently, Smith's involvement with the Dons attack, and his overall impact on the team dried up, as while Wimbledon suffered with injuries off the pitch, the midfielder was beginning to show why his parent club, Lincoln City, were not too keen on keeping him around.

Albeit changes in system and rotating personnel next to him were far from helping, but the once-tidy work started to become sloppy, and while there were games where he and Wimbledon shone, there were games that just passed Smith by with him having no real impact on any on-pitch action, showing signs of a worrying drop-off.

Barrow and Walsall can be important to Smith's future

That drop-off has since subsided though, and there are signs that Johnnie Jackson has seemingly got the old Alistair Smith to rise up once again to help push this Wimbledon squad on to the dream of automatic promotion they are chasing.

Over the weekend, in the Dons' victory over basement club Carlisle, Smith was exemplary, grabbing a goal and an assist to bring his tally up to the aforementioned amounts. But his performance in the midfield, not only in the most recent game, but also in the games beforehand, have certainly shown that the Smith of old is returning, just at the right time.

If the Beverley-born midfielder plays his cards right over the next two games, against Barrow and Walsall, not only will he help the Dons begin to make inroads towards cementing themselves in the automatic promotion spots, but he will also place himself firmly in the shop window as an attractive proposition.

He has the makings of a very good, Championship-quality midfielder, with his footwork and dribbling making him quite press resistant. However, his output and passing still feel a little rushed or lazy at times, and so, if he can show an improvement in that department to help Wimbledon maximise on points over the next two weekends, then there will certainly be a lot of clamour over his signature.

Wimbledon will be favourites to sign Alistair Smith but other threats linger

With Lincoln City having loaned Smith out in what appears to be the final year of his contract, according to Transfermarkt estimates, it is likely that as long as Michael Skubala stays with the club, the midfielder does not have a future there.

So where does that leave him in regard to decisions over his future?

Well, the obvious favorites are the Dons themselves, as the club have welcomed Smudge, as he is affectionately known, with open arms, trusted him with plenty of game time and reaped the benefits of his quality when displayed.

The only question mark, however, about making the deal permanent, is how much money will be needed to afford him permanently going forward. Unfortunately for the Dons, projections do not look too rosy in terms of finances for the next year, so there may have to be some players that slip through the cracks.

Which is where the other likely team, Colchester United, step in.

The U's have been a mainstay in League Two for eons, and having had a mediocre start to life under the Cowley brothers following their appointment, things finally seem to be turning for the good, and at the time of writing, the Essex-based side are the form team of the division and side that could do real damage to this division if they are not promoted this time round.

They are a team seemingly much more flush with much more cash, and given they also took Smith under their wing for an equally successful loan spell only last season, they may fancy themselves as a side that could pick him up for free.

Whoever Smith signs for in the end is still way off on the horizon, though, but there is one certainty and that is that it won't be for a League Two team, especially if performances continue in the vein that they are.