Leyton Orient have moved quickly to replace departing star striker Macauley Bonne, signing Dagenham & Redbridge forward Conor Wilkinson on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
Bonne’s move to Charlton Athletic was confirmed this morning, and the O’s have wasted no time in finding a replacement.
Wilkinson scored twelve goals in twenty-three appearances for the Daggers last season as they battled towards the bottom of the National League.
The 6ft 3in forward had previously been at League One Gillingham but sealed a permanent move to Dagenham in the January transfer window following a successful loan spell earlier in the campaign.
Bonne was very popular at Brisbane Road, and it was always going to be difficult to replace a striker who scored forty-five league goals in two seasons, and Wilkinson certainly has big boots to fill.
The potentially arduous task ahead for the twenty-four-year-old was reflected in the reaction to his signing by Orient fans on social media, with many disappointed at signing a striker with less than impressive career goal stats.
Wilkinson has twenty-five league goals in one hundred and thirty-four career appearances according to soccerbase.com, and these far from mouth-watering figures left some O’s fans underwhelmed.
However, some were quick to point out Bonne had a less than impressive goal record before landing at Brisbane Road and were more positive on the move and appealed to their fellow supporters to give their new player a chance.
Here is a selection of Orient fans responses to the signing on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/PaulStaines86/status/1140605454319595521
https://twitter.com/IanJacobs1957/status/1140606060778196997
https://twitter.com/TGerbaldi/status/1140608810094092289
https://twitter.com/DanAuton2590/status/1140607526012096519
https://twitter.com/Simon08edward/status/1140607543175258112
https://twitter.com/joewatts9/status/1140605846143098880
https://twitter.com/iam_emmo/status/1140616193453285377
https://twitter.com/Orientsphincter/status/1140605140266823680
Give the lad a chance. All Orient fans should be pulling together at a time like this , looking forward to the new season. UP THE O’s.