JOHN Akinde says he had been aware of Colchester United's interest in him for some time prior to finally signing for them.

The 32-year-old forward has joined the U's on a two-and-a-half year deal, after his contract at Gillingham was cancelled by mutual consent.

Colchester have been long-time admirers of Akinde, who has plenty of scoring goals in League Two over the years for the likes of Lincoln City, Crawley Town and Barnet.

The 6ft 2in striker is in line to make his U's debut when they take on Swindon Town at the JobServe Community Stadium and he says he is looking forward to helping his new club.

Akinde said: "I've been aware of their interest for a while.

"You hear a lot of rumours in football but until something's concrete, you just get on with the job.

"This has happened and I'm glad to get it over the line.

"I did my homework and I heard from a lot of players that it's a great club.

"I'm looking forward to joining that and just enjoying playing football.

"I've always enjoyed watching them, playing against them and I've got a good relationship with a few of the boys here.

"I know the league position that they're in and I want to come and help.

"It's a big surprise that we are where we are, so I just want to come and help the team in the best way that I can.

Gazette:

"I've come here to help and give my experience in any way that I can, whether it's with the youngsters, on the pitch, helping around the place - everything.

"The last time I was in the league I got promotion, so hopefully we can bring that to the table very soon."

Meanwhile, Colchester's interim head coach Wayne Brown believes Akinde will give them a 'different dimension' in attack.

The U's have been reliant on leading scorer Freddie Sears' goals throughout this season and the addition of Akinde adds to their armoury.

Brown said: “He’ll give us a different dimension to what we’ve had in previous games.

“He’ll give us that physical presence and he leads the line very, very well.

“His numbers are very good for other clubs at this level and he’s proven at this level.

“He’s going to be a real good addition for us."