Striker Cody McDonald has said he is “absolutely buzzing” to be an AFC Wimbledon player after completing his switch from Gillingham.

The 31-year-old striker was offered a new contract by the Gills but elected not to sign and will be a Wimbledon player from July 1st.

Wimbledon manager Neal Ardley has long been an admirer of McDonald but has finally landed the striker after a long pursuit.

And after finally signing on the dotted line, McDonald can’t wait to meet his new team-mates on Monday.

“I am absolutely buzzing,” McDonald told the AFC Wimbledon website.

“It has taken a little while to get the deal over the line with holidays and that, but we set today for me to come in and get it done. I am really looking forward to joining up with the lads on Monday and getting going.

“I met with the manager a couple of years ago before I signed at Gillingham again. I really liked what he put on the table back then and with the club at a higher level now, at this stage in my career it was something I could not really turn down.”

The experienced forward, who has an impressive goals record during spells with Gillingham, Coventry City, Norwich, and Dartford, has turned down interest from elsewhere to commit his future to AFC Wimbledon, the deal commencing on 1 July.

Ardley added: “It was a long chase over the summer and I did try to sign Cody two years back, just before he re-signed for Gills. He has only just turned 31 and he still has years ahead of him. He scored 12 goals last season for Gillingham in a team that struggled a bit and his goalscoring record previously has been very good.

“Cody is very good in the box and he likes to get on the end of things. He is pacy, has good movement, and he works incredibly hard for the team so we need to make sure that we supply the chances, like we often did last season. Cody will hopefully be a player who can take them.”

Brought up in Essex, Cody banged in the goals for his local club Witham Town, before a prolific spell at Dartford convinced Norwich City to sign him. The goals continued to flow during loan spells with Coventry and Gillingham, the Kent club signing him permanently in 2013.