FORMER Swindon Town midfielder Jack Payne is set to snub a lucrative new contract at Swindon Town and join Charlton Athletic in the next 48 hours, Adver Sport understands.

Payne was offered a new contract by Town at the end of last season - a deal technical director Sandro Di Michele called "incredibly strong."

However, the 27-year-old is thought to have accepted less money in order to play at a higher level and join his former boss Ben Garner at The Valley on a two-year contract.

After agreeing personal terms over the weekend, Payne is set to undergo a medical on Monday and should be confirmed as a Charlton player before close of play on Tuesday.

Payne joined Swindon as a free agent upon his release by Lincoln City in the summer of 2020 and went on to make 88 appearances in all competitions, scoring 18 goals and providing 13 assists.

In a dire season for the club over the course of the 2020-21 campaign, Payne was one of few shining lights and went on to pick up the Swindon Advertiser's Swindon Town Player of the Year award.

And despite enduring a lengthy spell out injured last term, the 27-year-old still proved to be a vital cog in Town's march into the League Two play-offs - netting plenty of important goals on his way to becoming the club's second highest scorer.

The midfielder's expected move to South London would make him the sixth former Town member of staff to relocate, with Garner's departure in early June kicking off the pattern.

One of Swindon's analyst's switched the County Ground for the Valley, as did players Mandela Egbo and Jojo Wollacott, and assistant coach Scott Marshall.

Should Payne's move be confirmed in the next day or two, he would join Egbo, Wollacott, Akin Odimayo, and Rob Hunt in rejecting new contracts at Swindon to ply their trade elsewhere for the 2022-23 campaign.

Mathieu Baudry and Harry Parsons were the only two players to extend their respective stays at the County Ground.

Odimayo signed a deal with Swindon's League Two rivals, Northampton Town earlier this month while Hunt was recently spotted training with Crawley Town.

Should the full-back sign for Kevin Betsy's men, he would join former Swindon club captain Dion Conroy in Sussex after the centre-back made the switch upon his release by Scott Lindsey's men.