Throughout his junior career, the young forward progressed through the ranks of Tranmere Rovers and Swansea City before signing his first professional contract with the Swans in 2020. The next year, he also had a trial with Derby County, however he was not hired by the Rams. He would go on to have a successful trial at Wycombe, winning a contract at Adams Park, where he would initially play for the club’s B team. A solid loan spell with Bromley would have helped Al-Hamadi break into the first-team at Wycombe, but this was not to be.

He battled for minutes under Gareth Ainsworth and did not stand out when he did play. On a frigid December evening in Plymouth, the attacker failed to impress and was substituted by another youngster, Tjay De-Barr. This would be the beginning of the end for Al-Hamadi, as his colleague persuaded the boss to move the Iraqi lower down the pecking order. When the January window arrived, Al-Hamadi was free to locate a new place. He joined League Two club AFC Wimbeldon on a free transfer, but the Chairboys had an invested interest. It was a good thing they did since no one could have predicted what the former Swansea forward would go on to do.

Wimbledon’s gamble on Al-Hamadi paid off big time

The attacker needed a month to find his feet in League Two with his first goal, but once he did, he couldn’t stop scoring. He was selected EFL Young Player of the Month in March 2023 for his outstanding performances with the Dons. By the end of the 2023-24 season, Al-Hamadi had scored 10 goals in 19 league appearances for Johnnie Jackson’s team, which was particularly noteworthy given that he had only been with the club for half a season. This goal-scoring form had clearly left any frustrations from his time at Wycombe in the dust. Many clubs were watching the then-21-year-old, but the true test would be if he could maintain his form the following season.He accomplished just that, scoring a hat-trick against his previous youth club Tranmere on his route to 13 goals in the first half of the season. By now, clubs were lining up to sign Al-Hamadi.

Ali Al-Hamadi – AFC Wimbledon stats (Transfermarkt)
Apps	Goals	Assists	Yellow cards	Red cards	Minutes played
48	27	8	9

Championship club Ipswich Town were fortunate enough to get him from the Dons in a transaction allegedly worth over £1 million. While an undisclosed sum was due to travel to Buckinghamshire, it’s safe to assume that Wimbledon’s bet in bringing the striker in paid off, since they’d make a significant profit if they sold him to the Tractor Boys.His time at Portman Road has been largely unsuccessful thus far, but with Town securing promotion to the Premier League, it was unlikely that Al-Hamadi would be able to adapt from League Two to the top flight overnight.

The Dons’ investment not only helped the Iraq international get his career back on track and accomplish his dream of playing in the Premier League, but it also brought in a lot of money for Wimbledon, allowing them to mount a promotion campaign this season.

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