COLCHESTER United have completed the signing of experienced striker John Akinde.

The U's have been long-time admirers of the 6ft 2in forward.

And they have finally got their man, after he joined them on a two-and-a-half year deal from Gillingham, after his contract with the League One club was cancelled by mutual consent.

Akinde has made nearly 550 first-team appearances for a number of clubs, during his long career.

And in that time, the 32-year-old has scored 163 goals.

After catching the eye at Ebbsfleet United in the non-league game, Akinde was snapped up by Bristol City for £140,000 in 2008.

But he was largely restricted to substitute appearances for the Robins and made a number of loan moves during his time at Ashton Gate to the likes of Wycombe Wanderers, Brentford, Bristol Rovers and Dagenham and Redbridge.

Akinde eventually left Bristol City to join Crawley Town on a permanent basis in 2011.

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Forward thinking - John Akinde pictured during his Gillingham days Picture: NIGEL FRENCH/PA

He went on to play for Portsmouth and Alfreton before making the switch to Barnet, in 2014.

Akinde enjoyed a prolific time during his four-year spell with the Bees, scoring 89 times for them in total.

In 2018, he left Barnet to join Danny Cowley's Lincoln City and the striker's goals helped the Imps win promotion from League Two, as he top scored for them in the 2018-19 season.

Akinde made 29 appearances in League One for Lincoln the following season, before leaving to join Gillingham in January 2020.

He has made 13 league starts for the Gills, this season but has now departed Priestfield to join the U's, where he will be hoping to further add to his career goal tally and help them move up the League Two table.