UTILITY man Jon Meades has cut short his brief stay at Dean Court after his contract with Cherries was terminated by mutual consent.

Meades penned a two-year deal when he was signed by former Cherries boss Paul Groves in August 2012 but has not featured for the first team.

The 21-year-old, who was released by Cardiff 12 months ago, enjoyed a fruitful loan spell with AFC Wimbledon and played a starring role in helping them preserve their Football League status.

Although Meades looked set for a permanent switch to Kingsmeadow, Dons boss Neal Ardley recently all but conceded defeat in his attempts to persuade the Welshman to stay.

Meades, who progressed through the Cardiff academy where he worked under Ardley, is currently weighing up his options after reaching agreement with Cherries over the remainder of his contract.

Cherries boss Eddie Howe said: “Jon did very well during his loan spell with Wimbledon. We would love to be in a position to keep everybody but, unfortunately, we can’t.

“We can’t carry too big a squad and we need players who are going to be able to step in and play in the Championship. We need to create room for potential new signings and the agreement with Jon was reached with that in mind.”

Meades made 26 appearances for Wimbledon and was voted by supporters as the club’s young player of the year. He also won the Radio WDON player-of-the-year accolade.Speaking to the Hounslow Chronicle, Dons boss Ardley said: “If you have players who do well for you, then they attract attention. Jon is one of them.

“When there are clubs out there who are willing to pay a left-back more than anyone in our whole squad, it is difficult for us to sign them.

“I get on well with him, but he doesn’t owe us anything after what he did for the club last year. He has been made an unbelievable offer which I expect him to take.”

Meades has attracted the attention of several clubs with League Two outfit Oxford United understood to be favourites to clinch his signature.