AFC Wimbledon have ended their interest in signing Gillingham centre-back Adam Barrett.

The League 2 side had been keen to extend Barrett’s loan which expired on Monday.

But according to Dons manager Neil Ardley the Gills wanted a permanent deal.

Ardley, speaking to Dons’ official website, said: “The feedback we got from them last week was that they did not want to loan Adam back and it would have to be a permanent agreement.

“We started to pursue that this week, but it became too complicated and long-winded. It also involved waiting until the end of January and we would still not know for certain if we were going to get him.”

The Wimbledon boss added: “Adam knows how hard we tried to keep him. I spent all day on the phone yesterday (Wednesdy) trying to get the deal done.

“Adam has been a great professional and he did a fantastic job for us.”

Barrett played, 35, played 30 games for the Dons in the first half of the season.

He could still leave Gillingham, however, as Southend United manager Phil Brown has expressed his interest in signing the defender.