AFC Wimbledon are reportedly closing in on their latest summer signing, this time raiding a local Premier League club for further strength and depth this season.
The Dons have already secured the additions of several players including Matty Stevens, Callum Maycock and Alistair Smith to strengthen their promotion push ahead of the 2024/25 League Two season.
However, with loan star Alex Bass moving on to his next challenge, a replacement was always likely to arrive at AFC Wimbledon and it appears as though this is set to be confirmed in the coming days.
Goodman on the way in
According to journalist Alan Nixon, AFC Wimbledon are set to clinch the signing of Crystal Palace goalkeeper Owen Goodman on a season-long loan deal, with the move expected to be confirmed this week.
The 20-year-old spent the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign with fellow League Two side Colchester United but is now expected to return to the fourth tier on another temporary move.
How did he fare last season?
Goodman made a total of 40 appearances across all competitions for Colchester United last season, keeping four clean sheets as the football club narrowly avoided relegation in the previous campaign.
He also featured for the England U20s during a 2-0 defeat against Romania in October in the U20s Elite League.
Meanwhile, AFC Wimbledon spent the campaign with Sunderland’s Alex Bass as they narrowly missed out on the play-off places but has since signed for fellow League Two side Notts County.
Is Goodman a fair replacement for Bass?
Alex Bass managed 44 league appearances for AFC Wimbledon last season, whilst Goodman made slightly less at 38 for Colchester United.
There was a significant difference in terms of clean sheets with Bass keeping 16 to Goodman’s four, which also means the goals conceded per 90 also saw a difference with 1.1 (Bass) compared to 1.6 (Goodman).
However, Goodman averaged a higher number of saves per 90 (3.0 to 2.5) and more accurate passes across each game (66.1% to 53.3%) with the former Colchester goalkeeper also picking up an assist.
Although a loan move may not be the preferred option to some supporters, Goodman’s statistics closely match up to Alex Bass, which could be enough to get fans onside with this transfer.