AFC Wimbledon manager Mark Robinson has insisted that he wants to see defender Nesta Guinness-Walker remain with the club as transfer interest emerges.
Guinness-Walker has managed to enjoy another strong start to the season with Wimbledon in League One, with the defender managing to register one goal in his 12 appearances in the third tier so far this term.
The 22-year-old is starting to attract plenty of transfer interest because he is entering the final months of his current deal with Wimbledon. Therefore the League One club are at risk of potentially losing the defender on a free transfer in the summer if he does not sign a new deal.
According to the latest report from London News Online, Championship trio Bristol City, Huddersfield Town and Middlesbrough are all potentially interested in making a move for the 22-year-old. That means that Wimbledon are going to face a really tough fight to try and tie him down to a new longer-term deal.
Should Guinness-Walker not commit himself to a new contract then it might be the case that Wimbledon would have to consider cashing in on him in January to avoid losing him on a free transfer.
Speaking to London News Online, Robinson has now insisted that he sees Guinness-Walker as a player that is constantly improving and who has a bright future in the game. He also added that he hopes that Wimbledon can keep hold of the 22-year-old and get him to sign a new deal.
He said: “I see Nesta as very much a part of our plans. He’s a great lad – he wants to get better every day.
“He has got a bright future because he wants to improve, get better, and he knows the areas he needs to improve on. But he also has many great assets that can go on to be really important for what we want to do.
“With Nesta, he has got the attributes, but a lot of it is just that self-belief in certain areas. He’s proving that he is capable of excellent performances – it’s just getting that consistency with him.
“I want to keep hold of any lads who have room to improve and can take the club where it needs to be.”
The verdict
This is a very difficult dilemma for Wimbledon, but it will be pleasing for their supporters to hear Robinson wanting the club to show the ambition to keep hold of talented assets such as the 22-year-old. However, as they saw with Joe Pigott in the summer, wanting to keep hold of key players and then actually doing that are two very different things.
Bristol City have already shown a willingness to invest in promising League One defenders with their capture of Rob Atkinson from Oxford United in the summer. Therefore it would not be a surprise if the Robins did make a move to sign Guinness-Walker before he signed any new deal with Wimbledon.
Then both Middlesbrough and Huddersfield will also be in the market to add to their options in the winter window as well. They could be tempting destinations for Guinness-Walker as well, with the defender likely to be keen to test himself out at Championship level.
Therefore, it could be a nervous few months for Wimbledon over the long-term future of Guinness-Walker and it might be tough for them to keep hold of him.