Nevitt has signed a two-year deal with League Two side Oldham Athletic, where he’ll team up with boss Micky Mellon.

Mellon plucked Nevitt from non-league football to sign for Tranmere Rovers, and he rewarded the-then Rovers boss with 14 goals in 73 appearances across all competitions before eventually moving to Crewe Alexandra, where his form saw him attract the attention of the Gills.

Nevitt moved south to join Gillingham for the 2024/25 campaign, but despite his industry and willingness to chase lost causes, things just didn’t work out for the Liverpudlian in front of goal. After eight goals in 61 appearances in all competitions, Nev was loaned out to Cambridge United, who went on to earn promotion to League One.

At the end of the season, Nevitt was released by the Gills, and has returned north to Oldham, where he has reunited with Mellon to reignite his career once again.

“I’m really happy. When I spoke to Micky earlier on, he told me how much he wanted me, and that meant a lot,” Nevitt told Oldham Athletic’s official website.

“I loved working with him, and I wanted to work with him again.

“Micky was the first person to believe in me. He took a chance in signing me, so I owe him a lot. He gave me the chance to be a professional and made me the man I am today.

“The club is massive, I love playing here, the stadium and the pitch are great, I can’t wait to play.”

Often, when players sign at Priestfield, we hear them talking about the stadium, the fans, and the potential at the football club. But Gillingham’s first signing of the summer was very clear on the major factor that put Gillingham above the rest when he decided where he wanted to sign.

Chatting to the club’s official website, Brophy explained how Gills boss Gareth Ainsworth really won him over and proved the difference-maker in convincing him that Gillingham was the right move for him and his family.

“Yeah, really excited, really happy,” he said.

“As soon as I met Gareth, I had a really good conversation with him, really good chat, found him really relatable, really genuine – and I think after that chat it kind of set in my mind that this was high up on my list as a place that I’d like to come.”

Not only did Ainsworth’s sales pitch pay off, it’s also clearly excited Brophy for the season ahead. Having spoken to a number of managers about a potential move, Ainsworth stood out as the boss Brophy was most excited to work with.

“I think for me as a player, it’s important to sign for a club, you sign for the manager, really,” he explained.

After helping his last club earn promotion to League One, Brophy has no plans to put himself in a position where he’s battling at the wrong end of the table. After tasting the glory of promotion last season, he wants to repeat the experience at Gillingham.

“Obviously, I’m not getting any younger,” he said.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play a lot of games. I feel like I’ve still got a lot of years left in me, but we’ve had a really good season this year just gone with Cambridge, achieving promotion, being successful, and that was definitely something that was important to me – to look for a club with that ambition as the next step, and I think that’s one that’s definitely here.”

Brophy didn’t waste any time in securing his playing future, as he secured his move before many players’ contracts expire at the very end of the month. For the 31-year-old, the decision to make the move swiftly was a deliberate one, driven by family, and overall mental wellbeing.

“Yeah, definitely,” he said.

“We’ve got two little ones, and I think our life is surrounded by football, and we have to make a lot of sacrifices for this line of work.

“I think in order for me to be successful as an individual, and then help the team as much as I can, I think it’s important to me to get settled earlier, because I think delaying it any longer or eating into pre-season, I think only has a negative impact on that season.

“So I think setting myself out early and knowing where I’ll be next season will put me in the best place to be the best I can next season, (and) hopefully help us be successful.

“It helps us move, helps us settle in quicker, and then helps us find the routine in order, in order for me to be able to give the best that I can. So that was definitely an important factor for us.”

And Brophy offered us a little teaser of what we can expect to see from him in a Gills shirt this season and beyond.

“I think I’m direct, I think I’m fast. I think I like to be positive on the pitch. I think I like to help create goals,” he said, as he listed off his attributes.

Brophy was released by Cambridge after helping the side to promotion to League One, and swiftly joined Gillingham in a move fans in Kent hope will spearhead a promotion push at Priestfield.

And, as he completed his obligations at Priestfield on his first day as a Gills player, Brophy shared a farewell message to his former club, and their fans.

In a message shared via Cambridge United’s official X account, Brophy opened up on how much his time at Cambridge meant to him as he delivered a classy farewell to his former club.

“I just wanted to send a message to say thank you to everyone associated with Cambridge,” he began.

“The last five seasons have brought me and my family some of the greatest moments of my career, along with one of the toughest.

“On the pitch, from the FA Cup win at Newcastle, to the Great Escape, to the disappointment of relegation, and then redeeming ourselves with promotion at the first time of asking – I’ve experienced more than I ever thought possible.

“Off the pitch, I’ve had the privilege of welcoming my two children into the world here, settling into the community, and making friendships for life through this football club.

“Thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey.”

The 31-year-old arrives at the club following his release by promotion-winning Cambridge United, and brings a wealth of experience at this level.

After spending the first three years of his career in non-league football, Brophy joined Swindon Town in 2015 and spent three years at the club, making 73 appearances. A short loan spell at Leyton Orient towards the end of that run eventually opened the door for a move to the London side, and he spent two and a half years there before turning down a new deal to join Cambridge.

During his five years at Cambridge, Brophy racked up more than 250 appearances in all competitions, won the club’s Player of the Year award in 2024/25, and helped the U’s regain promotion to League One last season. However, at the end of the campaign, he was released by the U’s, leaving him on the open market. Gillingham wasted no time in making their move, and Brophy is now officially a Gill, having signed a two-year contract at Priestfield.

James Brophy: Key Stats

Age: 31

Position: Left/right midfield

Former clubs: Cambridge United, Leyton Orient, Swindon Town

Career appearances: 480

Goals: 20

Assists: 47

Yellow cards: 51

Red cards: 1

While predominantly left-footed, Brophy often featured on the right of Cambridge’s midfield last season, so Ainsworth will have the option of deploying him on either side of the midfield. His work rate will also ensure whoever is playing full-back behind him will get some help – something we didn’t see too much of last season.

He’s also clearly a solid athlete. He made 53 appearances for Cambridge in all competitions last season, registering a total of 3,436 minutes. If he can continue that consistency and durability in a Gills shirt, it’s likely he’ll become a mainstay in the side and help not only bring his footballing qualities to Gillingham, but also some much-needed continuity.

All things considered, Brophy looks like a very positive addition indeed, and a major upgrade in an area of the pitch where we’ve been particularly weak in recent seasons.

One of the highlights of every summer since the Galinsons arrived at Gillingham has been the official kit reveals, and the club has unveiled its first new strip for 2026/27.

The photoshoot, which looks like it was taken on St. Mary’s Island, or around the Chatham Dockside area, features “models” Nelson Khumbeni, Armani Little, and Bradley Dack, fully decked out in the new kit, and all wearing sunglasses (presumably the models’ own).

The brand new home strip is once again manufactured by Macron, with the Milky Way-esque home jersey of last season replaced by a traditional solid royal blue number. There’s some nice detailing in there, too, with wavy lines offering some texture to the shirts.

The shirt features round, crew-neck collars, with the shirt sponsor, MEMS Power Generation sitting perfectly on the lower chest area, in white. It shouldn’t matter about the sponsors’ logos, but they really can make or break the look of a shirt, and MEMS strong square-bracketed logo is perfect for the front of a football shirt. The jersey also features new shirt sleeve sponsors, with Pro Parts replacing Magnus Search. Their logo is displayed prominently on the left shoulder, in white.

The back-of-shirt sponsor, C&A Building Products, has its logo displayed across the top of the shoulders, but unlike the other sponsors, it is displayed in its own colours of light blue and yellow, with a black keyline.

In other news, the white shorts are back! After a season in blue and white patterned shorts that matched the jerseys, Gillingham have returned to a classic blue-white-blue approach, with blue shirts, white shorts, and blue socks. The socks feature white tops and a small stripe, which sets them off smartly against the shorts and brings the whole kit together very nicely indeed.

The new kit goes on sale at the Gillingham FC club shop at Priestfield on Saturday, May 30, with online orders also being taken on that day.

New away kit revealed

Hot on the heels of the home strip’s release, the club followed up the following day with the unveiling of the away shirt, and a very different style to previous away colours.

Mister Maker helps launch ‘purple swirl’ third kit

Gills fans who became parents over the last 15 years or so will know Mister Maker well. The Kent-based, Gillingham-supporting CBeebies star is the post-Millennium answer to Neal Buchanan, but for younger kids. So, when we saw Mister Maker – real name Phil Gallagher – on the Priestfield pitch, we knew the Gills’ third kit wasn’t going to be a simple single-colour number.

What we got was a kit unlike anything I’ve ever laid eyes on before. Dark grey, with a light purple swirl pattern, plus accents of aqua green. It’s quite something. And, on first glance, it’s pretty jarring, because it doesn’t look like what you’d expect from a football shirt.

But, and I realise I might get some pushback on this, it does kind of grow on you. At least, I think it does. There are plenty of fans who have already decided that it’s definitely not for them. In truth, it probably isn’t. It’s for those who fancy something a bit different. Kids will love it, and a few fans of a more established vintage might not mind seeing a break from the norm, too.

Also, it’s OK not to like them. In my eyes, the only jersey that really matters when it comes to looks is the home shirt. I didn’t like last year’s home kit at all. But this time around, I think they’ve nailed it.

Since the Galinsons have arrived, they’ve used the third kit to do something different that might appeal to different subsets of the fanbase. This year, it feels like they’ve done that with both the second and third strips. Personally, I actually prefer the third to the second. But for me, the classic blue home jersey is the clear winner. I’ll be stumping up for that, for sure. And if I’m feeling bold – and it still looks OK in person – I might, just might, nab a third kit jersey, too.

Comment below and let me know which of the kits you’ll be buying this season.

One year into Gillingham’s much-talked-about two-year plan, the club sits on the verge of the biggest summer transfer window in recent memory as the decision-makers at the club look to revitalise and reinvent the playing squad into a team of winners.

The first big step was the recognition that the 2025/26 squad wasn’t fit for purpose, and manager Gareth Ainsworth’s comments during the run-in finally revealed to the fanbase that, yes, he could see what the fans could. But the proof of the pudding would be in the club’s retained and released list, as the club engaged in a mass clearout of the playing squad, with several senior players departing Priestfield.

More may still follow, with some of the under-contract players at the club potentially made available for transfer, but given the moves already made by the club, there are clear areas of need that must be addressed before the season gets underway on August 14.

Goalkeepers

After bidding farewell to both Glenn Morris and Jake Turner at the end of the season, signing at least one bona fide senior goalkeeper will be high on Ainsworth’s summer shopping list – and in truth, we probably need two.

Finding someone with the calm composure and quiet leadership of Morris will be a difficult task, and if the club needed to invest some of its budget in transfer fees, using some of that budget to sign a proven stopper would be a shrewd move.

Defenders

The issue with Gillingham’s defensive corps is less about numbers and more about quality. Sam Gale should be a mainstay next season, and it’s likely that Omar Beckles will partner him. Andy Smith is a more than capable League 2 centre half when he’s on his game, but cover at the position is thin.

Midfielder Robbie McKenzie can deputise in the middle of a three, but the club probably needs another big, bad, nasty centre half with plenty of experience, especially if we’re going to be playing three at the back with any regularity next season.

While we need another experienced body at centre half, we arguably need a pair of starters at full back. Max Clark’s release opens up a spot at left back that needs urgent attention, while at right back, Remeao Hutton remains at the club with one more year on his deal. However, given our defensive performances during the past campaign, Ainsworth may look to upgrade on both flanks.

Harry Webster will have benefited from his loan spells at Chatham Town and Ramsgate, and could come into contention, but I’d expect Ainsworth to look to recruit experience on both sides of his defence in a bid to make us a much more solid proposition at the back this season.

Midfielders

This is possibly the area of the squad that raises the most question marks this summer. In terms of bodies, the squad already looks well stocked with midfield options. But given the fact that the side was consistently second-best in the middle of the park last season, you’d have to imagine that at least one key midfield signing is a must this summer.

Bradley Dack looks set to play another key role, though his minutes are likely to be managed in order to maximise his impact across the full season. That’ll likely mean regular game time for Cam Antwi, who will be like a new signing this season after being struck by injury almost immediately after arriving at ME7.

Of the rest of the existing first-teamers, Armani Little looks like the pro with the highest ceiling. In a season where none of our main midfielders really shone, Little was perhaps guilty of trying too much at times, leading to criticism of his performances. He would definitely benefit from an experienced, solid presence alongside him to free him up to play his natural, box-to-box game.

There are other options in play, with youngster Harry Waldock showing promise on his first-team appearances, while Nelson Khumbeni showed glimpses of his potential in an injury-hit campaign. But in a year where the club is expected to mount a serious challenge, Ainsworth can’t afford to pin his midfield hopes on promise and potential. He needs proven quality, and I’d expect to see at least one senior midfielder come in, and maybe one depart, before the season gets underway.

Forwards

The fans know it, the Galinsons know it, and Gareth Ainsworth certainly knows it – Gillingham simply don’t score enough goals, and it’s high time that issue is properly addressed.

The signing of Ronan Hale in January brought a livewire finisher to the club, but without a strike partner or any sort of service, he struggled to consistently get chances last season. If the club gave Hale a big, strong strike partner (Omar Bugiel wouldn’t be a bad option), Gillingham could well get 15+ league goals out of the Northern Irishman next season.

Another goalscoring striker certainly wouldn’t hurt, too, but they don’t grow on trees. If we can add another finisher to generate some real competition for places, as well as giving Ainsworth options up top, things would look much healthier in attack.

Out wide, the evergreen Garath McCleary is staying on for another year, and he brings real quality to the side whenever he plays (just replay his final-day goal against Shrewsbury). But we need another wide man to provide balance. Former loanee Jonny Smith is available, and we saw what he can do in a Gills shirt. But he won’t be the only option on the market.

Look out, too, for Louie Dayal. He’s impressed in the short time we’ve seen him in the first team, and picked up the Academy Player of the Year award before being given a full pro contract. He’s got something about him that could make him a more than viable impact sub to torment full-backs late in games.

Former Gillingham goalkeeper Glenn Morris departed Priestfield this summer as a bona fide club legend, and he admitted that his second stint at the club delivered more than he expected before he departed with fond memories of his time at ME7.

Chatting in his first interview with his new club, Dorking Wanderers, Morris talked about his time at Priestfield, and his second stint at the club in particular, as he went on to make 136 appearances for the club, with 41 clean sheets.

“Yeah, I loved it,” he told the Dorking Wanderers official website.

“I probably played more than I thought I would at that period of my career, and in the league. I had a good, good rapport with the fans, and it was my local team, really.

“I just had a really good time, some good people there, and just enjoyed playing there. I think it was the right time for me to move on, and I’m just looking forward to a new challenge now.”

That new challenge will begin next season with Wanderers, who are bidding to challenge for promotion from National League South to the National League after missing out in the semi-finals of the playoffs this past season.

“It’ll be interesting to see how you know how I go with this,” he admitted.

“The Conference South, I’ve never played that level, so I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s a good challenge, and it’s something that I’m really looking to get stuck into.”

The Cyprus-born front man signed his first full-time professional contract at Gillingham after hitting the goals in non-league football with Enfield Town. But the leap up to League 2 football proved to be a tough challenge for the forward, who found regular first-team football hard to come by during his time with the club.

Wyllie made 27 appearances across all competitions for the Gills, scoring three goals and assisting for two more. Late in his Gillingham career, he was loaned out to Ebbsfleet United, where he made seven more appearances, scoring once.

Now the 26-year-old frontman will look to play more regular first-team football having joined the Shots, and his new manager Scott Davies is certainly happy to have added him to his squad for the 2026/27 campaign.

“Securing Marcus is fantastic news,” Davies told the official Aldershot Town website.

“He’s had really good experience of being in the EFL with Gillingham over the past couple of seasons, but it’s important that he now finds a home to play his football.

“He certainly knows where the back of the net is, and the style in which he adopts off the ball is infectious. I know that he will run all day long and be a real nuisance for defenders in the league so I’m delighted that he’s signed.”

“I had contact from the manager and Dean (Lightwood), who I have worked with before, and it really excited me, and I’m pleased to get it done,” Morris told the Dorking Wanderers official website after sealing his move.

“I’ve obviously been through quite a few different experiences and if I can help the lads in any way, then I will, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well.”

Manager and Chairman Marc White hailed the arrival of the former Gills man, saying, “We’re delighted that an established professional like Glenn has chosen to join Dorking Wanderers. He’s a Football League goalkeeper who, in my opinion, should still be playing in the EFL, and he comes to us off the back of an outstanding season at Gillingham.

“I believe Glenn’s experience, leadership and quality will contribute hugely to the group, and I’m flattered that Dorking will be the first club outside the EFL in his career. I am confident that Glenn has the potential to be the standout signing of our summer transfer window.”

Morris made 136 appearances for the Gills across two stints at Priestfield. His first spell in Kent saw him make just 12 appearances for the club from 2014-2016. But when he returned for a second bite of the cherry in 2022, he went on to make 124 further appearances, all the way up to the final game of this season, where he signed off with a clean sheet at home – his 41st – in the Gills’ 1-0 win over Shrewsbury.

The ME7 Podcast’s Tom Jasper is joined by David Miller, James Cleal & Elliott Grunwell as they look at those players who will be leaving the club, those who had an option within their contract triggered, and finally those who are contracted to remain at Priestfield for 2026/2027.

The slam-dunk winner of the Player of the Year award was Bradley Dack, whose contributions through the season offered the sort of quality that were so glaring by their absence elsewhere. He is already confirmed to be a part of Gareth Ainsworth’s plans for next season after officially announcing that he has signed a new deal with the club for next season.

Young Player of the Year was also an easy selection, as defender Sam Gale claimed the award after a solid campaign that saw him fully establish himself as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Left back Max Clark picked up two awards, winning the Goal of the Season award for his thumping volley at Bristol Rovers. His teammates also recognised his performances on the pitch by voting him the Players’ Player of the Year.

The Academy Player of the Year award went to Louie Dayal, who made a late-season appearance in the first team with a late cameo in the home win against Accrington Stanley. He could well be one to watch next season, if given the chance to compete for a place in the first-team squad.

Gillingham FC end-of-year awards: Season 2025/26

• Player of the Year: Bradley Dack

• Young Player of the Year: Sam Gale

• Players’ Player of the Year: Max Clark

• Academy Player of the Year: Louie Dayal

• Goal of the Season: Max Clark

Overall, it was a season that offered little for the fans to be too happy about, and the annual fan-attended end-of-year awards dinner was scrapped, with the awards instead being presented on the pitch at Priestfield.

It was a rare moment of disconnect between the fans and the club, with the club making the (perhaps wise) decision to switch up the awards presentation. But the fans and the club will be hopeful of a better season in 2026/27, and the return of the annual end-of-year awards event – hopefully to celebrate a successful campaign.