More must leave to free up the MK Dons wage bill

More players are expected to follow Conor McGrandles out the door at MK Dons as Russell Martin looks to free up cash in his budget for next season.

McGrandles departed for Lincoln City last week to allow midfielder Ben Gladwin and defender Daniel Harvie to sign for 2020/21.

Martin did not specifically name the players he was looking to move on, but it is likely big earners Kieran Agard and Hiram Boateng - neither of whom regularly featured under the manager since he took over in November - will be top of the list.

Agard is the club's third all-time leading scorer, and led the club's goals tally when they secured promotion to League One two years ago. He struggled on Dons' return to the third tier though, scoring just two league goals and four in total. Boateng was signed by Paul Tisdale from his former club Exeter, and despite a promising start, failed to make a big impact, resulting in just 28 appearances and only nine since Martin took over.

When asked whether more players will be set to leave the club before the new season starts in September, Martin said: "They will have to. There are players involved in the squad, who are pretty obvious because they weren't involved much last year, who won't be this year as well because of the vision we have for the team. So people will need to move on to play and to free us up to do other business.

"The players are aware of that situation, but they will not be treated any differently. Whilst they are here, they will be treated the same as everyone else. There will be more ins and outs before the season starts."