Dons sign Pompey keeper and Brighton defender on loan

AFC Wimbledon have signed goalkeeper Joe Bursik from Championship side Portsmouth, and defender Freddie Simmonds from Premier League side Brighton, both on loan for the rest of the season.

Bursik, 26, returns to Plough Lane, where he joined the academy as an eight-year-old before leaving for Stoke City aged 16.

He kept seven clean sheets in 16 Championship games for the Potters in 2020-21 before going on loan to Telford, Accrington, Doncaster and Peterborough.

Bursik signed for Pompey in September 2025, making 10 league appearances and starting against Arsenal in their 4-1 FA Cup third-round defeat at Fratton Park.

He told the Dons website: “It’s great to be back. It’s a bit of a full circle moment. Good feeling, good memories.”

Simmonds, 18, has yet to play a first-time game for Brighton, having been with the Seagulls since the age of six.

He has, however, played for the Under-21s in the EFL Trophy and National League Cup.

Simmonds has played for England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 levels, and played at both the European Under-17 Championship and Under-17 World Cup.