Stoke City youngster has had to remain patient during loan at MK Dons

Emre Tezgel has got a big future ahead of him, but the Stoke City loanee has had to remain patient for his chances at MK Dons.

The teenager has been limited to just three starts since joining on loan from the Potters in the transfer window, making the majority of his appearances off the bench, amassing 323 minutes on the field for Mike Williamson's side. But for Tezgel, it has been his first taste of senior first-team football, and a loan spell which has also seen him score his first EFL goal with the third in a 3-1 win over Salford City earlier this month.

Signed initially as injury cover for Max Dean, the return of the striker to fitness threatens to limit Tezgel's game time further.

Speaking about the teenager, Williamson said Tezgel has all the attributes to have thriving career, but his loan experience in Milton Keynes thus far will have taught him a lot about the realities of first-team football in the EFL.

"His ability is unquestionable and he is going to have a very good career in front of him," said the head coach. "These challenges are going to map that for him.

"He has had to be patient. He has always trained incredibly hard and really well, and that is all you can affect when you're not in the starting line-up. When he's got his chances, he has done really well."

He continued: "This is about pure development, and it comes in all different forms. We've got a really competitive squad so to have him on board is brilliant.

"He's a big unit, can handle the physicality which is good at such a young age, but technically too he's very clean and can create good scenarios out of bad ones."