Neal Ardley seeks to keep key pair
Neal Ardley has admitted that extending the loan deals of Jonathan Meades and Toby Ajala is a big priority during the January transfer window.
Meades, a player who the Wimbledon boss nurtured through the Cardiff Academy system, showed his versatility during the win at Rochdale by switching from midfield to left-back after a half-time injury to Warren Cummings.
Neal Ardley believes such qualities will be invaluable during the rest of this season and he hopes that AFC Bournemouth will let the Welshman extend his loan stay at Wimbledon, while he hopes that Bristol City will allow pacy winger Ajala (pictured) to do the same.
With Ajala’s current loan spell having come to an end after today’s game and Meades also due to return to Bournemouth next week, Neal Ardley is eager to keep them both on board.
“Jonathan’s versatility is why we brought him in,” said Neal Ardley. “He has been an unbelievable signing for us. We would love to keep him longer and I am working on that. Jonathan can play virtually anywhere on the pitch and he has not had a bad game for us.
“We are also working hard to keep Toby. When we tried to sign Toby, I thought he had a very good edge to his game and a good work ethic. But he also has quality as well and he has shown that during his loan spell.”
Neal Ardley confirmed that Warren Cummings suffered a hamstring injury during the 1-0 win at Rochdale and that is why the left-back was withdrawn and replaced by Jack Midson for the second-half.
and it worked.” “Warren’s hamstring was tight and we did not want to take any chances with it as he had the same injury earlier this season,” he added. “Hopefully, there is not too much damage as he has done really well since he came back into the team. I thought he was excellent at Torquay. He is a good professional and is good to have around the place. I hope the injury is not too bad and he will be back very soon. We were were thinking of putting Pim Balkestein on at half-time, but we decided to go with another striker
Dons Player subscribers can view the full video interview with Neal Ardley later this weekend, along with the thoughts of Jonathan Meades, who produced another impressive display during his loan spell from AFC Bournemouth.