Aaron Ramsdale said that advice from George Long paved the way for him towards AFC Wimbledon.
Aaron wasted no time asking his former Sheffield United team-mate all about the club as he was aware that George had a very successful stay here last season.
"It's definitely a good honour to join AFC Wimbledon," said Aaron. "I have heard a lot about the club from George Long who was here last year and he's a good friend of mine. George just said that it's a really good family club and the people here are great. He said that the Goalkeeper Coach here is a bit crazy, but he's a brilliant man! He told me that the fans here are superb and when they get behind the team there is nothing better.
"I'd obviously been training with Bournemouth, but I knew there was bits of interest in me from here and there. When Wimbledon showed interest in me I was keen to come here and it's all happened quickly in the last 24 hours. Now that I've signed I cannot wait to get going."
Aaron was snapped up by Premier League AFC Bournemouth in 2017 and he's also had notable success with England, including being a part of the national Under-19 squad that won the European Championships. Aaron has also shown his qualities by representing England Under-21s, but he believes that gaining more league experience after his spell at Chesterfield last season is exactly what he needs at this stage of his career.
"For my career, it's another step-up. I played for Chesterfield in League 2 and unfortunately the season did not go as well for the team as hoped, but I certainly came out of it with plenty of positives. I put in some good performances there. Now I have to just concentrate on what I can bring to the team here by helping to get us points and to climb out of the bottom four.
"I'm really excited to meet the lads and get going. Hopefully, I can help the team to win more games and start pushing up the table."