Leeds United, during that 2-2 draw with Watford on Good Friday, were indebted to the contribution of super-sub Mateo Joseph.
The 20-year-old forward had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds before he forced home an 86th minute equaliser at Vicarage Road, Leeds salvaging what could be a hugely-important point in an automatic promotion race which sees three teams fight for just two spots.
But even Joseph’s immediate impact off Daniel Farke’s bench pales in comparison to the impact a former Leeds United youngster made 37 miles down the M1 a few hours earlier.
Max Dean, sold to MK Dons back in January 2023 for his first-ever shot at senior football, only played 35 minutes in that League Two Clash with Watford. But he still found the time two score or assist four goals in a 5-0 win, netting two himself while setting up the efforts of Alex Gilbey and Joe Tomlinson.
Dean needed only 19 minutes to open the scoring against Notts County just two days later, too, taking his tally to 15 goals in 28 games and three over the course of the Easter weekend.
Former Leeds United starlet breaks 15-goal barrier
“It took him about 32 seconds to make an impact!” Dons boss and former Newcastle defender Mike Williamson told the MK Citizen after that Walsall whirlwind. “What an introduction.
“He’s a special lad. He still has a lot of room for improvement, and that’s the scary thing. His ceiling is incredibly high.”
Williamson also drew attention to the red-blooded tenacity which made a teenage Dean such a hit at youth level back at Leeds. Former youth coach Mike Jackson, who brought him to MK Dons in the first place 15 months ago, felt that Dean needed to harness that drive and that ferocity and use it to his advantage, and Williamson tends to agree, urging one of the EFL’s rising stars to add a little ice to that raging fire.
Young Player of the Year gong up for grabs
“That tenacity he has, I don’t think he needs any more fire in his belly,” the manager adds. “It’s now about ice in the veins.”
Dean, per the MK Dons website, has now been nominated for the EFL League Two Young Player of the Season award. He will be competing with Tranmere Rovers’ wildchild Rob Apter and Stockport County defender Ethan Pye for the award.
Leeds, meanwhile, take on Coventry City away from home at 3pm this afternoon.
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