By Rob Cornell
Former Burnley youngster and left-sided player Richard Pingling has joined AFC Wimbledon and will remain a part of Alan Reeves’ development squad.
Pingling had been on trial with the club’s under-21s set-up and he has now earned a deal with the Dons, having impressed Alan and manager Neal Ardley.
“We’ve had him in and he’s done well,” said Alan. “The gaffer has seen him in a couple of games and we said we’d make a decision after the Fulham friendly this week.
“He has a good go and has got some good attributes, he’s a willing worker and listens. Above all else - what got him the contract - he’s a good decision maker. He makes the right decisions the majority of the time.”
The full interview with our Development coach Alan Reeves, about the signing of Richard Pingling and his plans for the squad, is available below via a link to our official club YouTube channel.
“He’s an attacking player and can play anywhere across the front, he’s left-footed, but can play on the right as well,” said Alan.
“We’ve got a little bit of money put aside as we’ve had a few long-term injuries. We’ve addressed it at the last technical board meeting, in case this happened, but we need a team. We can’t have the under-18s playing Saturday and Tuesday every week because it’s not good for them.
“We’re not going to bring players in for the sake of it. We are going to look, but we’re going to be very studious who we bring in on trial.”
“If they’re good enough – we’ll give them an opportunity.”
Alan Reeves and Richard Pingling are pictured at the training ground earlier today.