MK Dons have announced the signing of Jon Mellish on a season-long loan from Wigan Athletic.

The 27-year-old is the Dons’ first loan signing of the 2025 summer transfer window, and their ninth signing overall following the previously announced arrivals of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Gethin Jones, Aaron Collins, Will Collar, Tom Finch, Callum Paterson, and Marvin Ekpiteta.

Mellish’ arrival sees the Dons add a player who can play in defence or midfield, including at full-back, with the Dons having sought an option at full-back after first-choice full-backs Gethin Jones and Joe Tomlinson recently suffered injuries.

Mellish had joined Wigan from Carlisle United in January, having previously spent 5 and a half years with the Cumbrians. He made 245 appearances in all competitions for Carlisle, scoring 32 times, while he also made 21 for Wigan after moving from Cumbria to Lancashire last season.

In an arrival interview on the MK Dons website, Mellish said, “I felt quite comfortable coming in, 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.

“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.”

Head Coach Paul Warne said he was delighted to add Mellish to his squad.

He said, “It’s good to have Jon at the club, a player that 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 and I look forward to watching him being involved at the weekend.”