Exeter City are the latest League One club to have declared an interest in taking Max O’Leary on loan, Bristol Live understands, with the chances of the 25-year-old joining MK Dons now appearing unlikely.
O’Leary’s immediate future at City looks uncertain at present given the arrival of France Under-21 international Stefan Bajic on a free transfer earlier this month and Dan Bentley’s status as club captain and No1, and the Robins have explored the possibility of loaning him out this season.
That has been slightly complicated by Bajic still recovering from a minor wrist injury and the fact the 20-year-old’s transfer is still awaiting international clearance. While that situation remains, it would be deemed unnecessarily risky for the Robins to send O’Leary out, albeit with a recall option in the agreement.
As reported by Bristol Live, MK Dons had made an enquiry over the academy product’s availability in the summer but the League One side have successfully brought back Jamie Cumming on a season-long loan, with the 22-year-old having spent the second half of 2021/22 at Stadium MK.
Even if the Dons were to make a surprise request for O’Leary’s services, it seems unlikely City would loan him out knowing his status wouldn’t be as a definitive first-choice because, ultimately, without game time he may as well remain in BS3.
Exeter have now emerged as a possible destination for the 25-year-old as they prepare for their return to League One with last season’s No1 Cameron Dawson having returned to parent club Sheffield Wednesday and Grecians manager Matty Taylor admitting they can’t afford to bring him back to St James’ Park.
O’Leary has significant experience at that level having spent the 2019/20 season with Shrewsbury Town, while he has also amassed 36 Championship appearances for City.
He was involved in City’s second pre-season friendly of the summer against Portsmouth on Tuesday at the High Performance Centre, replacing Bentley with 60 minutes remaining of the 120-minute contest. He then received strong congratulations from Nigel Pearson at full-time as he left the field.
There is increasingly a feeling that O’Leary could well stay with City, at least for the start of the season, to allow Bajic to settle in and the necessary paperwork to be processed, plus he has the self-confidence to believe he can usurp Bentley once again over the course of the campaign.
However, as the MK Dons example proves, with teams looking to make important loan signings such as goalkeeper as early as possible in the window, the longer the Robins wait, the fewer options there potentially are, should they wish to loan him out.
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