MK Dons have signed defender Jack Sanders from Scottish side St Johnstone.

The 25-year-old has joined the Dons for an undisclosed fee and signed a contract of undisclosed length at Stadium MK.

Sanders becomes the Dons’ fifth new signing of the January 2025 window, following the previous captures of Jay Williams, Dan Crowley, Tommi O’Reilly and Nathan Thompson.

The defender also arrives in the week where MK Dons confirmed new signing Thompson is set to miss the majority of the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, which the 34-year-old sustained during the midweek match against Harrogate.

Sanders’ move to Milton Keynes sees him return to England after four years playing in Scotland, where he had been contracted to first Kilmarnock and then St Johnstone, joining the latter in 2024.

In his half season with St Johnstone, Sanders made 27 appearances for the Perth-based club, scoring twice and playing alongside former Dons midfielder Matt Smith.

Sanders told the official MK Dons website that he felt the club would be the right fit for him.

He said, “I pride myself on my defensive duties first. But I do like to take the ball and pass it quite a lot. I can play the ball into midfield and pass out from the back. I’ve watched a few games and hopefully, my style of play will fit with what the guys have been doing.”

The Dons’ Head Coach Scott Lindsey added, “Jack is an exciting centre-back at a great stage in his career, it’s clear to see he has a really high ceiling. He’s already played a good amount of football this season so should be able to hit the ground running quickly. We think he’ll offer us something a little bit different at the back so I’m really looking forward to working with him.”

Northampton Town were beaten 3-1 by Bolton Wanderers on their trip to Lancashire.

The managerless hosts had taken an early lead through a goal by George Thomason, before the Cobblers bagged a quick equaliser through Liam Shaw.

Shaw would then however unfortunately slam home an own goal, before a late strike by Aaron Collins secured success for Bolton.

Defeat meant that Northampton remain in the spot immediately above the League One relegation zone, with victories for Burton Albion and Crawley meaning that Northampton are only three points clear of the two teams immediately behind.

The game saw a return for Cobblers boss Kevin Nolan to a club he represented as a player, having made 345 appearances in all competitions for the side from Lancashire that he spent nearly a decade representing.

Things got off to a bad start for Northampton, however, when they fell behind with three minutes on the clock. A slick passing move from a short corner saw the ball cycled back to Thomason, who drilled a low strike into the bottom corner.

Northampton would only trail for a few minutes, however, as Shaw was in the place to pick up a half-cleared Mitch Pinnock cross and drill a firm finish into the bottom corner.

Bolton had pressed to seek a second goal, with Victor Adeboyejo shooting just wide before Nik Tzanev made a fine stop to deny Thomason.

But the home side would take the lead again from an unfortunate method for Shaw. Northampton’s goalscorer was in the right place to meet Collins’ cross, only to inadvertently plant a strike into the back of the net.

While the Cobblers held their own in the second half, they weren’t able to find themselves a way through to equalise in the second half.

Tzanev made a narrow stop to deny Collins late on, but Collins would make sure for the hosts when he received Joel Randall’s pass on a counter and scored.

Northampton will be hoping for better results on Saturday, when they welcome Huddersfield Town to Sixfields.

Luton Town have announced the singings of defender Kal Naismith and midfielder Thelo Aasgaard.

Naismith, 32, signs on loan for the remainder of the current season from Bristol City, in the process returning to the club he left to move to Bristol in 2022, having been voted the club’s Player of the Year in his last season with the Hatters.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old midfielder Aasgaard joins from Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee, signing a contract of undisclosed length with the Bedfordshire club.

The arrivals mean Luton have now signed four players in the window, following the previous arrivals of Christ Makosso and Isaiah Jones.

Former Scotland youth international Naismith was the first arrival the Hatters confirmed in their dual signings yesterday (28/01), with the move seeing him return to Luton for a second time.

Naismith had previously joined Luton in 2021 from Wigan, making 68 appearances in all competitions for the club and helping them to reach the play-offs in his only full season at the club.

The defender left to join Bristol City in 2022 but has found game time hard this season in the South West, making 7 appearances for the Robins this season and none since a defeat by Leeds United on Bonfire Night.

Naismith told the official Luton Town website that he was delighted to return to the club.

He said, “I’m delighted and excited to be back and grateful to get this opportunity.

“It’s a great squad and, while we’re not in a great place at a minute, it’s still an amazing place with amazing people.

“I want to come in and help and have a good end of the season. I’ll give everything, I couldn’t have loved my time here before any more.

“It’s not often people get second chances but I’m back to try and have a positive impact on the team between now and the end of the season.”

The signing of Naismith was then followed by the signing of former Norway youth international Aasgaard, who joins from Wigan Athletic.

Born in Liverpool but eligible to represent Norway through his father’s family, Aasgaard moves to Bedfordshire after four and a half years of first team football with Wigan, playing in League One and the Championship.

He had enjoyed a very impressive goalscoring season with the Latics so far this term, having scored 12 times in 31 appearances in all competitions, including four goals in his final four appearances before the move was confirmed.

Aasgaard confirmed he was delighted to get the opportunity to move to the club.

He said, “It’s been a joy to watch this club grow over the past few years so I can’t wait to be a part of it now.

“I’ve been at Wigan from a young age, and I’ve had a lot of good memories there, so the next move had to be right, had to be special, and I feel this is the right place to be.

“I’m going to try to add goals from midfield and provide that creative spark and bring my teammates into the play.

“I’ve been playing pretty much every minute of every game at Wigan so I’m ready to go. I’m physically good and I can’t wait to get started.”

A late goal by Alex Gilbey saw MK Dons just edge out Harrogate Town 2-1 at Stadium MK.

It had looked as though MK Dons had seen their hopes of a first win in five games disappear when Joe White’s first half goal was cancelled out by Zico Asare’s deflected strike in second half injury time.

However, Gilbey’s firm strike less than two minutes later won the day for MK Dons, as they picked up a first win since New Year’s Day and a first home win since early December.

The late success see MK Dons climb a place in the League Two table to 11th position, with the team now 7 points behind the play-offs.

Having picked up a point against AFC Wimbledon in a game where they felt unlucky not to take all three points in their previous outing, MK Dons looked to try and grab a first home win in January in their last attempt to do so.

Visiting Milton Keynes were a Harrogate side that had been getting points on the board, with the side from Yorkshire having picked up 2 wins and a draw in their last 4 games.

With Luke Offord and Sam Sherring absent, the Dons gave a full league debut to youngster Charlie Waller, who was sporting a bandage from his head injury sustained in the late stages of the match on Saturday.

The visitors carried a threat early on, with Harrogate coming close in the first few moments on as Josh March saw an angled strike denied by Craig MacGillivray.

MK Dons were struggling to get going in the early stages, with Harrogate coming close again as Toby Sims headed over at a corner.

There was then a further blow for MK Dons in the form of an injury. Defender Nathan Thompson, who was making just his second appearance for the club, suffered damage while challenging for a free-kick and despite trying to carry on, the defender had to be withdrawn.

A few moments after they were forced into their reshuffle, however, MK Dons took the lead. Newcastle loanee White picked up the ball and went on a charge, eluding multiple Harrogate defenders on a slaloming run into the box before lashing a strike into the bottom corner.

Aaron Nemane saw a shot deflected wide just after in home side attempts for a quick second.

In response, however, Harrogate had some good chances of their own. Waller was forced to make a block after Olly Sanderson’s shot beat Craig MacGillivray, and from the consequent corner, Ellis Taylor’s drive from outside the box was deflected onto the post.

Sensing a goal might be in it for them, Harrogate began the second half on the attack, but found themselves snatching at opportunities, with Dean Cornelius having one shot blocked and another sail wide before Bryant Bilongo headed over at a corner.

Gilbey headed over on a brief break for the Dons, but Harrogate continued to pose a danger to the hosts, with Taylor heading wide at another corner. Even closer was Sims, who was first to the ball after MK Dons failed to clear a corner and the defender’s hit smashed off the post with MacGillivray beaten.

Although they spent a lot of the second half on the back foot, MK Dons nearly scored a second in unexpected circumstances as Gilbey won the ball and had a go from 40 yards that only just bounced past the post.

Taylor would see a shot denied by MacGillivray as the visitors remained the team that looked likelier to grab a second goal.

In a brief flurry, however, MK Dons came close to make it 2-0. First, Waller saw a header denied acrobatically by Harrogate keeper James Belshaw, before a Tomlinson shot from the consequent corner took a deflection and bounced barely wide of the mark.

As the game approached the final minutes, Harrogate pressed in search of an equaliser but with a few strikes going wide of the mark when through on goal, it looked like the push might come up short.

That was, however, until the second minute of stoppage time. Harrogate substitute Asare was first to the loose ball after MK Dons failed to fully clear a corner and the full-backs strike took a big deflection off Connor Lemonheigh-Evans before arcing in off a post.

Less than two minutes later, however, MK Dons responded emphatically. Callum Hendry was first to a rushed clearance and the sub laid the ball off to Gilbey, who thrashed a firm strike into the top corner to restore MK Dons’ advantage.

Harrogate had no answer to that, with MK Dons snatching victory from the jaws of defeat despite an unconvincing display.

MK Dons: MacGillivray – Lawrence, Thompson (Thompson-Sommers 24), Waller – Nemane (Lemonheigh-Evans 63), White (O’Reilly 71), Williams, Tomlinson – Crowley, Hogan (Hendry 63), Gilbey

Subs not used: McGill, Harrison, Kelly

Goal: White (27), Gilbey (90+3)

Booked: Thompson, Waller, Gilbey, White

Harrogate: Belshaw – Sims, O’Connor, Moon, Bilongo (Asare 80) – Cornelius (Cursons 80), Morris, Sutton (Hill 72), Taylor – Sanderson (Muldoon 64), March

Subs not used: Oxley, Daly, Dooley

Goal: Asare (90+2)

Booked: Morris, Sutton, Hill