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MK Dons are having a fine summer transfer window.
Despite missing out on David McGoldrick to Barnsley, Paul Warne has reunited with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing in Buckinghamshire, while Aaron Collins will be expected to provide goals in League Two.
There is interest in Steven Fletcher after his departure from Wrexham and Will Collar will help strengthen the midfield following his Stockport County exit.
MK Dons are one of the favourites for promotion in League Two, but there is one thing that Warne has missed out on so far in his managerial career and two EFL experts have predicted him to do the same once again this season.
EFL experts predict MK Dons to miss out on League Two title
With excitement building ahead of the new season, there are plenty of predictions being made. MK do look very strong, and they will be expected to fight at the top of the League Two table.
However, the Not The Top 20 Podcast do not believe that Warne will capture the title in 2025/26. They said: “MK Dons are favourites for the title, so, we’ve got them finishing second instead. This would be a jump up of 17 league positions, lest we forget. MK finished 19th last season. It was a horror show of a season.
“Much was expected of them. And they just failed on a footballing level. But clearly a lot has changed in the summer to mean that people are very bullish about them, including us.
“We do think they’ll be automatically promoted. Paul Warne is the manager, something of a promotion specialist with Rotherham in League One and now managing MK in League Two. His appointment suggests a big revamp in the way that this team will play.
“They have for a couple of years been a Russell Martin, Liam Manning, Mike Williamson, possession-based team for the most part and now they’ve moved away from that. Paul Warne will have them incredibly fit, very well drilled, really intense out of possession, and would attack with speed.
“They will also attack with a lot of quality because their transfer business this summer is what’s really caught the eye. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing is probably a Championship level player right now, playing for MK on the wing. He loves playing for Warne.
“Aaron Collins scored plenty of goals for Bolton in League One the last two seasons and he’s dropped down in his prime to play for MK. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy had a really strong season for Crawley last season and he’s dropped down to play for MK. Gethin Jones, Bolton’s stalwart, really dependable defender, plays for MK Dons now.
“And the best of the lot for me, Will Collar, who they’ve signed from Stockport to play in the centre of the park. It’s an incredibly eye-catching group of individuals that they’ve signed. There’s already quite a few in the building and on paper, it just looks so strong, doesn’t it?”
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Paul Warne has never won a league title as a manager
Despite being a promotion specialist, there is one that has eluded Warne during his managerial career – a league title.
He finished second with Derby County in the 2023/24 campaign, winning promotion to the Championship at the second time of asking with 92 points, four points behind Portsmouth.
While with Rotherham United, he won the play-offs in 2017/18 for the first and only time so far, while he also finished as the runner up in 2019/20 and 2021/22.
Although this statistic is perhaps one that will not be playing on his mind too much, to have the accolade of a league title to his name would do plenty for his managerial CV, as well as giving MK Dons a greater financial bonus if they are to reach the summit come May.