MK Dons have completed the signing of Chelsea striker Charlie Brown on a permanent basis.
The 21-year-old joins the Dons after spending the last four-and-a-half years with the Premier League club, though he never made a senior appearance.
The left-footed forward moved to Stamford Bridge from Ipswich Town in 2016 and went on to become a regular goal-threat for Chelsea’s youth sides. In 108 appearances for the Londoner’s youth teams, Brown scored 53 goals and provided 12 assists, contributing to a goal every 87 minutes.
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Those stats make for superb reading and his credentials were further enhanced when six of his 53 Chelsea goals came against EFL opposition in the Papa John’s Trophy, while he was also crowned UEFA Youth League top goalscorer during the 2018/19 season, after netting 12 times in just nine appearances.
Brown stepped up to play senior professional football last season, when he enjoyed a short loan spell at Belgian First Division B side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, before the coronavirus pandemic curtailed the season.
On joining MK Dons, the striker told the club’s website: “I’m over the moon to be here. This is an opportunity I’ve been waiting for and I can’t wait to get on the pitch and show the fans what I can do.
“The Gaffer has got a really strong plan for the team and I’m really excited to be a part of that and have the opportunity to help the Club get to where it wants to be.
“I’ve seen the way the team plays, with a lot of possession and creating a lot of chances for the strikers. It’s going to be up to me to finish those chances off and I’ll be looking to do that as often as I can!”
MK Dons manager, Russell Martin, echoed Brown’s excitement when he said: “Charlie is someone we’ve been monitoring for a while now and when it transpired that we could sign him, we jumped at the chance.
“He’s shown a lot of intent to come and play for MK Dons – turning down some more lucrative offers because he believes in what we’re doing here.
“I believe the way we play and the culture we’re building will suit him really well. He’s scored a lot of goals at youth level but I believe we can improve him even further.
“In the long term, he’s going to be a very, very good signing for the Football Club and I’m confident, once we get him up to speed, he will help us in the short-term as well.”