AFC Wimbledon: Notts County, Reading FC evidence should have convinced Neal Ardley against signing | OneFootball

Kwesi Appiah time at AFC Wimbledon was definitely forgettable, but evidence from loans beforehand should have discouraged his signing entirely

Back in 2017, Neal Ardley secured the services of a striker he had long chased after for AFC Wimbledon and had almost given up hope on signing.

That striker goes by the name of Kwesi Appiah, and to Ardley in 2017, he was a big target and capture ahead of the Dons' second season in League One.

However, evidence from loan spells before joining the South West Londoners on a permanent basis should have hinted that he was never going to be as quality as Ardley had hyped him up to be.

Kwesi Appiah signs: Neal Ardley's thoughts from 2017

There is no doubt that in the summer of 2017, Wimbledon were needing major reinforcements up front. The previous season's double signing of Tyrone Barnett and Dom Poleon had not worked well at all, with both leaving the side after only one year with the club, and Tom Elliott, who had been awarded player of the year at the end of the 2016-17 season, had also just departed on a free following two great seasons with the Dons.

So, when a former Premier League academy player in the shape of Appiah came up for grabs on a free transfer, you can see why then-manager Ardley swooped and struck a deal to bring him to the club.

And Ardley was extremely enthusiastic about Appiah's signing, laying down some promising expectations for the Ghanaian international. Talking to the club website, he said, "This is such a good signing for the club.

"We tried several times to bring Kwesi back, but after he took the Africa Cup of Nations by storm with Ghana, I thought it could never happen.

"Goals are the hardest thing to create and score so Kwesi will hopefully help us in that department.

"We are delighted with this signing, and I'm sure the fans will be too.”

What should have discouraged AFC Wimbledon and Ardley from signing Appiah

At the time of saying those promising words about Appiah, Ardley could not have foreseen the form and injury troubles that would ultimately lead to the entire transfer being labeled as a bit of a failure.

However, and while it is highly unlikely that this was completely ignored, Wimbledon and Ardley could have at least looked at some of Appiah's previous loan spells in English football and taken his struggles as warning.

He enjoyed a spell on loan with Dons at the end of the 2013-14 season, where he would show some promise, scoring three goals in seven appearances, including a strike on debut against Newport County.

However, he had his fair share of loan spells that were less positive.

Two of his least impactful loans were during a one-month, emergency loan spell to Notts County in January 2014, where despite featuring seven times, he would not score once for the Magpies in League One, and during another brief spell, this time with Reading, which saw him score once in six games in the Championship at the end of the 2014-15 season

Those spells ultimately gave fans very little to write home about and likely left both sets of supporters not only slightly puzzled about the fuss surrounding the Ghanaian but also scratching their heads about what his strengths truly were. They were equally both moves that did not bring much joy and perhaps served as a reminder that the step up from non-league, where Appiah had caught the eye with 22 goals in 24 appearances for Margate, was maybe a step too far without slow, consistent integration.

He was forced to develop his game quickly when poached by Palace and sent out on loan to multitudes of clubs, both inside and outside of English football, and with expectations like that on his shoulders, maybe Wimbledon should have taken a look and a further think into whether he was what the club needed up front in an age where the forward line at the club was rather reliant on one sole player, and not an attacking unit as a whole.

Kwesi Appiah's career at AFC Wimbledon, and elsewhere since

Despite the warning signs that were there, the club did tie Appiah down to a long-term contract, getting the now 34-year-old to agree to a three-year deal with the side. However, some would argue that this was a very poor piece of business, and was just the start of his fairly forgettable time at the club.

Soon after joining up with the team, he would go on to suffer the first of many injuries, with this particular one being a nasty hamstring injury that would keep the striker, who had netted in one of his first games for the Dons, out for a fair few months of the season, and not allow him to find his feet back at the club.

Then, during the remaining two seasons, he would first wave goodbye to the man that brought him to the club, with Ardley going on to be sacked early on in the 2018-19 season, and consequently not see much gametime or consistent form happen for him in a Wimbledon shirt, with both Wally Downes and Glyn Hodges failing to get the best out of the Ghanaian international during their tenures working with him.

That is not to say he did not have his magic moments, with the opening goal against West Ham in the famous FA Cup upset of that 18/19 season being a particular highlight. However, his moments really were few and far between, and that did ultimately see him released by the club following the expiry of the Covid-affected 2019-20 season.

Since leaving the Dons, Appiah has taken in a spell abroad in India with NorthEast United, but has also played, and still plays on English shores. He has been on the books of Crawley Town, who would also send him out on loan to Colchester United, who he infamously scored for against the Dons in 2022, with his celebration causing a fair amount of frustration among supporters.

His current employers are Boreham Wood FC, who signed him last summer, but with only three goals in 15 appearances, the story is looking like it will be repeated yet again for Appiah, and perhaps prove that Ardley's pursuit of him was not wise, or well-thought-out, and should simply be chalked up as yet another transfer from that period of Wimbledon history where there were plenty of misses in the market.