Striker Charlie Strutton has joined Braintree Town on loan from Sky Bet League Two side AFC Wimbledon for an initial month.
Strutton signed for the Dons in March 2012 from Calor League Southern Division One Central side Chalfont St Peter in the face of competition from other Football League sides.
He came through the youth system at the Buckinghamshire club and had been playing first-team football for five years.
Dons` boss Neil Ardley believes that a spell with Braintree will be just what he needs at this stage in his career: “I spoke to Charlie when we offered him a new contract in May and I told him that we saw him as a bit of a project and that he may be loaned out at the start of this season.
“Although we have a squad of just eighteen with Charlie a part of that, I feel that the best thing for him is to go out and get more game-time. At the current time, he is a bit down the pecking order in terms of starting and maybe even coming off the bench.
“I am sacrificing having him on the bench for us to give him more game-time elsewhere. That may be beneficial for us in the long run. Charlie may come back full of confidence and we may have a different player on our hands.”
Strutton signed for the Dons in March 2012 from Calor League Southern Division One Central side Chalfont St Peter in the face of competition from other Football League sides.He came through the youth system at the Buckinghamshire club and had been playing first-team football for five years.
Dons` boss Neil Ardley believes that a spell with Braintree will be just what he needs at this stage in his career: “I spoke to Charlie when we offered him a new contract in May and I told him that we saw him as a bit of a project and that he may be loaned out at the start of this season.
“Although we have a squad of just eighteen with Charlie a part of that, I feel that the best thing for him is to go out and get more game-time. At the current time, he is a bit down the pecking order in terms of starting and maybe even coming off the bench.
“I am sacrificing having him on the bench for us to give him more game-time elsewhere. That may be beneficial for us in the long run. Charlie may come back full of confidence and we may have a different player on our hands.”