Jerome was subject to a late bid from the Championship

MK Dons' leading goal-scorer Cameron Jerome could have been on his way on transfer deadline day but a late bid was turned away for the striker.

The 34-year-old has nine goals from 25 appearances to his name this season, and was the topic of discussion when a bid came in for him on Monday night.Though the move interested the former Stoke and Norwich City striker, manager Russell Martin said there was not enough time left in the window to seek a replacement for him, with deals for Will Grigg and Zak Jules still rumbling on in the background.

Jerome was on the bench against Sunderland in the Papa John's Trophy on Tuesday night against Sunderland, with Martin explaining: "We turned down a bid for Cammy on Monday night, so it was a long day. We had late interest from a Championship club so I didn't play him for that reason. He wasn't in the right place to start the game. It would have helped us out if he was.

"But he's a good pro, he'll get on with it now. He didn't refuse to play, he just wasn't quite right in terms of his preparation. He's willing to kick on and do what he's doing for the rest of the season and then see where it takes him.

"I wouldn't want to lose him, but at 34 when you get the chance to play in the Championship for a club competing to get out, it's difficult. But at the same time, Cammy understood the situation from our point of view, and appreciates the opportunity we've given him.

"Ultimately we've kept hold of him, he's drawn a line under it and wants to keep performing. And if he does keep continue to perform the way he has been, there will be interest again in the summer."

Jerome signed a one-year deal at Stadium MK and is out of contract at the end of this season, but Martin admitted he has not discussed anything beyond the current campaign with the striker, but feels Dons have given him a platform to show what he is capable of.

"We've not discussed next season with him yet," he added. "He just wanted to come here and enjoy his football. We'll have to wait and see.

"Cammy came back from Turkey and didn't have the offers we thought he might have. We gave him the opportunity to keep playing in a team that creates a lot of chances for him. It fitted everyone and it has worked really well because of the chances we've created for him, because of how well he's done, because of how we play. And that has created interested, just as it did with Richard (Keogh).

"The interest was very strong but very late. It might have changed things if we had time to replace Cameron but we didn't. And I told him we can't just let one of our top performers go without having an opportunity to replace him. If it had come earlier, who knows what might have happened."