Swindon Town interim manager Gavin Gunning has admitted the club are interested in signing on-loan midfielder Dawson Devoy from MK Dons permanently.
The youngster has been with The Robins since January and has played 15 times. He has three goals and one assist in that time, including two from the bench in a scintillating second-half display in the 3-2 win over AFC Wimbledon last weekend.
The Irishman has somewhat fallen down the pecking order at his parent club having been on the bench a few times before joining Gunning’s side. With Dan Kemp returning to the Dons, they were able to let Devoy go the other way temporarily.
The Robins have had a difficult season and sit 19th in the League Two table having won just five times since the turn of the year. Despite that, the signing of the 22-year-old has definitely been a positive for the club.
He’s made seven appearances for Republic of Ireland under-21s, including the 2-0 win over Luxembourg in October 2021, where he appeared off the bench.
Devoy’s contract does not expire until next summer, although Gunning admitted to the Swindon Advertiser that he would love to sign the youngster on a permanent deal, hopefully this summer:
“100 per cent (I think he could be here next season). I think that he loves it here and he loves the work that we are doing. We have been trying to improve him and I think you can see the improvements in his game since he has come here.
“We have been trying to improve him and I think you can see the improvements in his game since he has come here.
“When he first arrived he played sideways, he would move, and he would try a diag(onal through ball).
“But now he is getting beyond the striker and he looks like a real threat.
“We haven’t really had a number six in the squad, Nnamdi (Ofoborh) has come in in the last few games and he has taken that, but we have been trying to throw everybody into that hole and see if anybody could fill it.
“When Dawson first came in I thought he was one of our best players, if not the best player because he was playing higher.
“But with Sads (Saidou Khan) getting injured, he had to play the deeper one and that hindered his effect going forward, which you could see at the weekend when he scored two goals.”
Swindon were on the wrong end of a 2-0 defeat yesterday against Grimsby Town and face Morecambe in their final game of the season next weekend as they look to end the season on a high.
Writer’s View
It’s always nice to see a player revive their career, despite not being needed by their parent club. Devoy has taken his opportunity in Wiltshire and deserves this move, if of course it does happen.
Swindon have had a tough season so it’s good to see them thinking ahead and pre-planning for the future and wanting to progress. With his age as well, depending on his progression he could be one for the future and could earn the Robins a chunk of money.
