AFC Wimbledon must beat Port Vale in Ipswich Town transfer race | OneFootball

The Dons are looking into signing Ipswich Town youngster Osman Foyo, and would do well to beat their fellow League Two side in the deal

Last week, it was revealed that AFC Wimbledon were actively looking into signing Ipswich Town youngster Osman Foyo, among three other EFL teams.

The Dons' main competitors in the race are Port Vale, who at the time of writing lie just one position above the South London club in the League Two table, and if the interest is genuine from a Wimbledon perspective, then the club would do well to beat the Valiants to the signing.

Having lost out in previous windows to the Staffordshire-based side to other talent that had done particularly well in non-league, presenting a better deal and winning Foyo's favour will give the Dons a mighty confidence boost and could potentially be a sign of things to come.

AFC Wimbledon look to beat fellow EFL sides to Osman Foyo

The news, reported by The72, broke last Wednesday and placed Wimbledon in a four-horse race for the signature of Foyo. The other sides competing for his signing are the aforementioned Vale, as well as fellow League Two side Colchester United and League One strugglers Crawley Town.

As said in the exclusive, the signing of Foyo would be on a permanent basis and would be all sealed by the end of the January window, even with his contract at Ipswich still having six months left to run.

Ideally, the Dons should look to do everything to bring the 20-year-old attacker in, as even though the forward line at the South London club has been firing in fair form this season, Foyo would be bringing some excellent form to the club, and sky-high confidence.

While out on loan at Chelmsford City in the National League South in the first half of the 2024/25 season, the former Norwich City academy player has racked up 13 goals from the wing, including a great run of four goals in his final three games with the Essex-based side, as well two assists too, showing that he is perhaps an all-action attacker who can comfortably play anywhere in the forward line, perfect for a side chasing promotion that need all the depth they can get.

Signing an in-form starlet would be solid for Johnnie Jackson

While the Dons have signed in-form players in previous windows to help replace outgoings, the signing of Foyo simply as a statement that the club want to compete for in-form non-league stars would be great for Johnnie Jackson and his team.

Wimbledon have been one of the league's best performing sides so far, becoming known for their regimented, tough to break down defence, and their attacking style, which has been ruthless at times this season, seeing them sit high in the table at the time of writing.

So to pluck an already in form attacker, and place him in and among a squad brimming with confidence and a brilliant blend of youth, leadership and creativity, would sound out a brilliant window for Jackson, which was not what a lot of fans felt would be the case on January 1st.

The former Charlton boss has made perfect additions in the areas that needed addressing coming into this window, by keeping Sam Hutchinson as a quality cover for the Dons' midfield and defence until the end of the season, and bringing in Marcus Browne to add a new dimension to the attack following Romaine Sawyers' departure.

He has not overloaded the squad, which was getting depleted with injuries, instead allowing the players fit enough to start the chance to shine, and those that were or are still injured, the perfect time for resting and recuperating, and now, by adding Foyo, he could start to allow for some rest to Wimbledon's key attackers as the business end of the season approaches.

Why must Wimbledon beat Port Vale to signing Osman Foyo

Beating Port Vale to the signing of Foyo would be a signal that the Dons finally have a package great enough to tempt players away from the much better money that Vale have been able to offer over the past season or so, and would also be a nice bit of revenge too.

During the summer, the Valiants were able to tempt Ronan Curtis away from the Dons following the expiry of his short-term contract at the club, despite the fact that the former Portsmouth star had endeared himself to supporters with memorable goals in the dying moments of a few tightly-fought affairs and also had the club to thank for giving him the chance to show he had recovered from his terrible ACL injury.

They also managed to win the fight for Lorent Tolaj, who the Dons had tried to sign in January 2024 to replace the Ipswich-bound Ali Al-Hamadi, meaning the club had to focus their search away from the man who had scored 25 goals in 51 appearances for Aldershot Town in 23/24.

So, if the South London side want to finally show they have what it takes to succeed in the fight against the money that clubs around them have to spend in the fourth tier, then presenting Foyo with the best offer possible and beating all opposition to his signature would go a long way to doing that.

Add that on to the fact that the Dons no longer seem afraid to dip into the National League, or below, to unearth gems, after a long time of not doing so, and the future does like rosy, and profitable, for the club.