Steve Evans has added to his Gillingham squad with the capture of former MK Dons midfielder Ousseynou Cissé.

Cisse, 28, operates mainly as a central midfielder but can also play at centre-back. He played 32 times for the Dons last season, scoring twice, before being released by the club in May. He has put pen to paper on a contract which will see him join the team at Priestfield.

The 6’5 Frenchman began his career with Paris Saint-Germain before joining the youth ranks at Amiens, making his debut in 2009. He remained at the club for three years before electing to join Dijon in the summer of 2012 where he stayed for a similar amount of time, making 93 league appearances and scoring five times prior to signing for Rayo Vallecano in 2015.

A loan spell at Belgian club Waasland-Beveren followed before choosing to go back to France in the summer of 2016 to join Tours, where he would remain for just the one season prior to moving to England with MK Dons where he signed a two-year contract. He made 67 appearances for the club in total, scoring three goals.

The Mali international, the midfielder having played five times for the national side, will meet up with his new team-mates on Thursday when players return for pre-season testing.

Cisse said: “I’m really happy to have signed for Gillingham. The Manager, along with the club, is very ambitious and I was keen to be a part of that going forwards. I am looking forward to getting started.”

Steve Evans said: “Ousseynou has been watched a vast amount of times by Paul Raynor and myself, especially during his period at MK Dons, as well as his time playing in France with Tours FC.

“At 6’5 he is a big strong defensive midfield player, but he has got fantastic talent and is capable of making the types of passes from a slightly deeper area, that will help us break the lines and give our defensive players clear opportunities to attack visiting defenses.

“Cisse is a key signing and I acknowledge the support of the Chairman in helping to get this one over the line.  We’ve added a key ingredient to the team that was missing last season, defensive power in such a key area.”

Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.