Laird confirms long-term aim

The right-back enjoyed a successful loan spell with MK Dons in the second half of last season, proving capable of handling the rigours of senior football and earning plenty of plaudits at the League One club.

After racking up 25 appearances for the Buckinghamshire outfit, the 19-year-old returns to the Aon Training Complex with a great deal more experience under his belt.

Hope u enjoyed the fireworks @MKDonsFC ☺️💕 pic.twitter.com/m0RABAwkqm

— Ethan Laird (@EthanLaird) May 12, 2021

When asked by Inside United if the plan was to return over the summer to discuss any plans, he replied: "Yeah, of course. I mean, that’s the club I’m at and that’s where I want to be.

“Who knows, I can’t really give you a set answer on my future just yet, but I know that my long-term aim is to establish myself with United. Let’s just see what happens in the summer.”

Laird was up to the challenge with an enterprising Dons side and impressed in defence and attack, bombing up and down the right flank to good effect. He also discussed the key differences to Under-23s football during his interview with the official magazine.

“Honestly, every game means a little bit more," he admitted. “I can't lie to you because it's points on the board and it's people's lives, you now. But more it's been the physicality of it for me, just dealing with players that are almost twice as big as you, jumping up for headers, this and that, knowing you're going to get hit, but you have to go for it anyway.

“You have to fly back and forward but everything else has been kind of similar. I can't lie to you. But yeah, that's, that's pretty much the main difference, the physicality part of it and a few tactical changes.”

Laird and his young colleagues kept in touch during their loan moves via a WhatsApp group, which helped considering the restrictions which were still in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of course, we're all close knit anyway," he explained. "So it’s just like, whenever we need each other, we'll shout each other. We'll just talk about other stuff as well - not really the football part, because we know what we are and what we're out there to do.

“We know what we're doing and if we need to talk about it, we talk about it, but it's just more like how we've been since when we were young, just talking as we usually did.”