Ryan Lowe explains why former Carlisle United favourite has joined MK Dons from Wigan Athletic - 'An unbelievable conversation'

The 27-year-old only arrived at the Brick Community Stadium from League Two side Carlisle United in January and went on to make 23 appearances in a Latics shirt.

And Lowe has explained the chain of events that led to the departure.

"Jon's an unbelievable lad, a great character, an unbelievable athlete,” he said. "He lacks in certain areas for what I want, but me and Jon had an unbelievable conversation regarding that.

"He understands that, and he said he'd go out and play some games...not to prove me wrong, but to play at a level where he will play every week.

"I think the plan is for him to play left-back for Paul Warne, who's a good friend of mine, and will treat him well for this season.

"He's got two years left on his contract here and, whatever comes after that, I'm not saying his career here's over. But he's done the right thing now for him and his family to go out and play some games."

Mellish jumped at the chance of joining up with former Latics man Warne at Stadium MK.

“I think it's a really good club, a family club, and speaking to the gaffer, that was one of his main things...that family side of things aligned with me straight away,” said Mellish.

“We’ve had a couple of phone calls, and straight away I had a good feeling, and that was one of the main reasons why I came, to have a good connection with the manager. There are a lot of things I can bring to the team, and experience I hope can push us that bit more this season.

“I’m excited, the way I like to play is quite aggressive, so hopefully that’ll get the fans going. We want to be winning games, simple as that. I’m quite an ambitious person, and I want to succeed.”

Dons head coach Warne said: “It’s good to have Jon at the club, a player we’ve liked for a long period. He’s played against my teams before and has always been excellent. He’s also played in a few different positions. I like him as a left-back too, he’s a perfect fit.

“He’s athletic, clean with the ball, a winner, he’s had a promotion, he can score goals off set-pieces and play higher up the pitch. I like players who can bring some real value to the squad. He’s going to be a good fit.”

Dons sporting director Liam Sweeting added: “Jon is a player we’ve tracked for some time but, at this stage of the window, transfers are rarely straightforward. We had to be patient in securing him, but we’re now delighted to have him with us for the season.

“He’s got plenty of experience, including a promotion from this league, and will offer us a really solid base as well as an attacking threat, especially from set-pieces. He’s also a strong character, which we’ll need this season, as well as being an extremely versatile player."