By Georgia Garnett
EARLIER this month, AFC Wimbledon announced their latest signing, attacking midfielder Marcus Browne, financially aided by author and YouTuber John Green.
The 27-year-old graduated from West Ham United’s youth academy and spent time at Wigan Athletic, Oxford United and Middlesborough before joining the Dons.
Browne has appeared in both matches since joining the club, logging 32 minutes in his debut against Tranmere Rovers and 24 minutes at Milton Keynes on Saturday.
They were his first appearances since the second leg of the League One play-off semi-final against Peterborough United last May when he helped Oxford United to a 1-1 draw and 2-1 aggregate victory.
Speaking after the 2-0 victory against Tranmere, Dons manager Johnnie Jackson lauded his new signing, saying: “His technical ability is probably miles beyond the level and we feel really fortunate to have him here with us.
“He bought into what we want to do, but we have to manage him carefully because he’s obviously not played a lot of football – you saw glimpses and you’ll see even more in the games to come.”
Browne had been out of football since the expiration of his contract with Oxford in June 2024, but saw an opportunity with the League Two side, noting the feel of the club and the chance to play closer to home.
He said: “The club’s situation was one of the reasons why I signed. Obviously we’ve still got a long way to go and there’s still a lot of work to do, but I feel like we’re only going to get better and go from strength to strength.
“I’ve played here before and it just felt like a really good stadium to play in, so I knew I could come in and enjoy playing in this stadium.
“Obviously for me, being away from home and out of London for the last few years, it just feels good to be back to be closer to home, family, friends and things like that, so that’s another factor.”
However, the midfielder’s ties to his new manager go back further than you may expect, as Browne and Jackson had some conversations while Jackson was the manager at Charlton Athletic.
Browne added: “We had quite a few conversations a few years ago before I signed for Oxford when he was the manager at Charlton, so I guess I’ve been on his radar for a few years now.
“We spoke again just before I signed, he allowed me to come in and train which I’m very thankful for as well, he just wanted to have a look at where I was at and ended up signing me.
“The conversations I’ve had with [Jackson] prior to me signing here have all been really good and I’ve always admired the way he goes about his business so that was another reason as well.”
Welcomed in by his new team, Browne and the Dons will look to make something out of the second half of the season in an attempt to return to League One for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
Wimbledon return to action on Tuesday when they kick off at Crewe Alexandra at 7:45pm.