Gillingham striker John Akinde has left the club by mutual consent and joined League Two side Colchester United.

Akinde has today left the Gills with the club, along with the player, deciding to terminate his contract by mutual consent, prior to agreeing a two-and-a-half year contract with Colchester United.

The 32-year-old forward signed for the Gills in January 2020 and went on to make 80 appearances, scoring nine goals.

He had previously enjoyed spells with Crawley Town, Barnet and Lincoln City before signing for Gills halfway through the 2019/20 campaign. He made his debut away at Rochdale in a 2-2 draw before netting his first Gills goal away at Blackpool in a 3-2 victory a couple of weeks later.

His final appearance for the club was earlier this week, starting in a 0-0 draw at home to Shrewsbury Town.

Akinde generally failed to live up to expectations in his time at Gillingham having arrived with a reputation for scoring goals and fell out of favour under former manager Steve Evans.

Many fans questioned Akinde’s commitment and his work ethic on the pitch and his departure should allow interim manager Steve Lovell some budget to bring in someone to replace him, subject to the terms of the current embargo Gillingham are under.

On signing Akinde, Colchester’s Interim Head Coach Wayne Brown said of the thirty two year old: “I think he’ll be a great asset for us.”

“He will give us a different dynamic that I think we have been missing so far this season, a presence and experience – but more importantly, we’re hoping that he’s going to bring us goals.”