MK Dons Lead The Race For Wanted League Two Man

MK Dons are reported to be winning the race to sign Accrington Stanley player Tommy Leigh, according to a report by Alan Nixon via his Patreon (paywall).

Tommy, capable of playing as a main striker, as a ten off the striker, or as a deeper midfielder, has also attracted interest from League One club Burton Albion, but this move has not materialized yet, and Accrington Stanley is now seeking a resolution on the deal.

What is the attacking situation at MK Dons?

Following on from their disappointing defeat to Crawley Town in the playoffs last season, MK Dons currently have Ellis Harrison, Max Dean, and Matthew Dennis all contracted for next season, with striker Mo Eisa being released.

Mike Williamson, tends to line his side up, with one striker with 2 attacking midfielders which tended to be Wearne who joined the club in January from Gateshead and had a productive end to the season with four goals and six assists, whereas Gilbey played every game in the league two scoring 13 and assisting 10. Dan Kemp was released upon the expiry of his contract after not capturing the same kind of scintillating form that he had at Swindon in the first half of the season.

MK Dons, have also lost Lewis Bate and Jack Payne after both of their loan deals expired and they returned to their parent clubs, meaning that they have lost combativeness as well as creativity from deeper areas of their midfield.

Harrison, joined the club last summer and started 6 league two games last season scoring eight goals across 1047 minutes from a total of 7.6 xG, which ranked him in the top 94% percentile for goals per 90 in the league last season for strikers.

Dean, had an excellent season scoring 15 goals in League Two from 22 starts and 29 matches in total playing a total of 1919 minutes and 11.8 xG, but will miss the first couple of games at the start of next season after a stamp of Jay Williams in the playoff match vs Crawley.

Dennis hasn’t played since March managing just the four starts across 14 appearances in the league but did score 4 goals from 1.9 xG giving him one of the best Goals Per 90 ratios in the league last season.

How did Tommy Leigh Perform Last Season?

Accrington, plays a different style of football to what MK Dons do, with Accrington being a far more direct side, averaging 48.5% possession last season whereas MK Dons were 2nd best in terms of average possession with 57.9%.

Tommy is also capable of playing off the striker in an advanced midfield role, or even much deeper playing as a deep-lying midfielder scoring eight goals last season from 6.9 xG, he also assisted 5 goals across his 39 league two appearances last season after scoring seven in the previous league one season which saw Accrington relegated.

Where would Leigh fit in?

I suspect, with the attacking options that MK Dons currently have at the club, Tommy will be playing a deeper role maybe replacing Jack Payne in midfield. He would also bring some robustness to a side that at the time last season, was opened up by opposition. This was proven in the last 5 games of last season where they conceded 19 goals.

It is difficult to compare Tommy’s stats to players of the same ilk due to the variety of positions played last season, so data for this signing cannot just be looked at. Watching clips of Tommy shows, a player that is comfortable on the ball as well as someone who is strong in his duels both aerially and in-ground duels. Winning nearly 46% of his aerial duels, and ranking in the top 95% percentile for attacking midfielders for duels won.