AFC Wimbledon have avoided Tom Elliott to Millwall 2.0 with big news | OneFootball

With the news Matty Stevens has signed a new deal at AFC Wimbledon, they have avoided a repeat of Tom Elliott's departure back in 2017

When Tom Elliot was crowned AFC Wimbledon's Player of the Year back in 2017, the announcement was met with "we want you to stay!"

However, the Leeds-born forward would end up leaving on a free transfer and join fellow London side Millwall.

But now, years on, thanks to moving quickly and tying down the services of a key player in the form of Matty Stevens, the Dons have avoided a repeat of the disappointment.

Tom Elliott's heartbreaking move to Millwall

Like Lyle Taylor in 2018, no one could really blame Elliott for rejecting a further stay with the Dons and preferring a move to a team that were on the up, as in the season leading up to his departure, Millwall, who were in the same division as the Dons at the time, had just won promotion to the Championship.

But the former England youth international had just starred in the Dons' first ever season in League One, featuring as a fantastic target man alongside the aforementioned Taylor. And come season's end, he was just a goal behind the Montserrat international in all competitions in the scoring charts for the South West London club, and was rightfully crowned with his award, voted for by all those that surrounded the club.

So, apart from the goals, his impactful quality on the pitch throughout his two historic seasons with the club, and the fact he had just been crowned as the best player the club had during the 16/17 campaign, what exactly made his departure hard to take?

Well, it came down to the fact that Wimbledon were having to say goodbye to a player they had watched come out of nowhere to develop into a quality striker, and despite having a great position within the football pyramid, they would never have had a chance to keep him.

Upon leaving, Elliott spoke with the club website to summarise it best. Firstly, speaking to South London Press, he said: "When I signed for Wimbledon, Neal put his arm around me and guided me. Neil Cox, Simon Bassey and Alan Reeves were amazing with me. I can't thank them enough.

"They've got me to this point where I'm playing in the Championship for a big team like Millwall. They've made me grow up and become better as a football player."

Then speaking officially with club media, he followed up by explaining the lure of the move, and why he had to break the hearts of the supporters who had grown to love him.

Continuing, he said: "I was honest with Neal and the club. I pretty much said if I got a chance to play in the Championship, I wanted to take it.

"I just wanted to wait until the end of the season and to see what the best option was for me to move forward and then take it from there. As a Wimbledon player I just kept playing my football and kept my head down and worked hard."

Wimbledon fans will not be feeling heartache in 2025

Losing any player is obviously gut-wrenching, but when it is a player who has made all the impact on the pitch, grown in terms of both their overall game, and their affection with the fans, it is a particularly bitter pill to take.

So that is why it is likely a huge sigh of relief that the Dons seemed to have learned from the Elliott transfer, among many other moves which stick long in the memory for the saddest of reasons, and signed up 24/25 star striker Matty Stevens to a new two-year deal.

The former youth boxer only joined the club in the summer of 2024, but has soared to the top of the club's scoring chart, with the potential to add more before the season is out.

And it is thanks to his goals that Wimbledon have remained competitive in the promotion race throughout the campaign, with the club still fighting on all fronts to either gain an automatic promotion spot, or ensure a place in the play-offs is guaranteed.

Those goals may also be the reason why he could get player of the year, like Elliott eight years ago, but the only difference is, he sees his future with the club, and while others from divisions above may come sniffing around, Wimbledon is where he feels most at home.

Not one Wimbledon fan would deny the fact he arguably deserves to continue his development at a higher level, if Wimbledon do not get there, but as he has chosen to commit early and stick around for longer, instead of playing the waiting game like Elliott did all those years ago.

And while the gamble never really paid off, with his final season at Wimbledon actually being his best in all the seasons leading up until now, the nature of his departure was a lesson that has been well and truly studied and understood by all at the club, to make sure crucial players stay with the club, and not get moved on at the easiest opportunity.