What ever happened to Dons striker Jabo Ibehre?

The forward was a fan-favourite during his four years at Stadium MK
Jabo IbehreJabo Ibehre
Jabo Ibehre

Jabo Ibehre signed for MK Dons in 2009, having scored against them in his final game for Walsall.

The big centre forward cut a path in football for himself at Leyton Orient, where he spent the first eight years of his career, racking up nearly 250 appearances and 41 goals.

After his single season at Walsall, Roberto Di Matteo swooped for the striker and signed him to a two-year deal. But Di Matteo's move to West Brom prompted a return to the club for Paul Ince as manager, where Ibehre found himself surplus to requirements. Two loan spells during his first campaign saw him get regular football in League One, but the appointment of Karl Robinson saw him return to Stadium MK.

A regular under Robinson, though largely used off the bench, Ibehre offered a different option for Dons as his stature and hold-up play gave the side a new dimension. But at the start of the 2012/13 season, and with the signing of Ryan Lowe, Ibehre was given permission to go out on loan to Colchester where he made 15 appearances, including scoring against Dons in a 3-1 win, before his deal was made permanent in January.

Speaking a few years later, Robinson admitted he regretted letting Ibehre leave the club as his side lost the attributes the striker brought to the club and never really replaced them.

What Dons lost though was Colchester's gain. A regular for the U's, he was named Player of the Year in his first season as he finished the campaign as joint-top scorer. A strong second season at the club saw Colchester avoid relegation to League Two, but when manager Joe Dunne left, Ibehre asked to leave too and ended up spending loan spells at Oldham and Barnsley before leaving Essex at the end of the season.

Dropping down to League Two, Ibehre moved to Carlisle where enjoyed his richest goal-scoring form, netting 31 goals in 85 games for the Cumbrians in two years. He also made national headlines for getting sent off after just 34 seconds against Accrington Stanley, though it was later overturned.

Ibehre then moved to Cambridge in 2017, where he remains. Now 37, Ibehre has racked up more than 600 league appearances in 20 years, netting 121 league goals.