During his first pre-season, following the signing of his pro deal in the summer, Joel Anker was awarded with a Stadium MK senior appearance during a friendly fixture against Championship outfit, Coventry City.
The 18-year-old forward made his home bow in front of the Dons fans within the closing ten minutes of the first friendly at Stadium MK ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Despite the defeat, Anker shared his thoughts on what was a ‘crazy experience’ for the former Academy player.
“I’m thankful to the gaffer (Graham Alexander), Chris (Lucketti) and all the staff who have believed in me to give me the opportunity to play in this game.” The forward expressed after the match. Joel added:
“It was a really good experience regardless of the result, I enjoyed playing in front of the MK Dons fans. I remember a few years ago I was sat there watching the games too, so it was a crazy experience for me. I really enjoyed it and I hope I get more opportunities like this.”
When asked about adapting from the Under-18s to the senior squad, Anker replied “I feel like it’s been quite a smooth transition.
“The team have been so welcoming, and they’ve been brilliant at giving me advice. They have the maturity and the experience to help you out when you need it as they were once young players like me too.
“It’s been a fun challenge, which I have enjoyed, but I still have a long way to go.”
After he earned the minutes on the field, the young forward was questioned about the pre-season training programme, which led to this opportunity, he responded “The whole team has been worked very hard, it hasn’t been an easy pre-season.
“I think we’ve done really well as a team, not just to work hard individually, but to also push each other to the limit and help pick each other up when we’re down.
“I really do believe that when the season starts, the fans, as well as us will see that hard work pay off. I really believe in what we’re doing here and I’m very excited about the future.”
Joel Anker was awarded with his first senior appearance during the Germany pre-season training camp, he entered the field in the final 20 minutes to face VfL Osnabrück. On the topic of this experience, the attacker had this to say:
“It was so vital for me to get to know everyone in the team because we’re all people at the end of the day, so it was great to spend more time with my teammates.
