Tom Eaves has joined Championship outfit Hull City on a three-year deal.

The striker has topped the scoring charts at Gillingham over the last two seasons.

Eaves scored 40 goals in 97 appearances for the Gills but left after rejecting a new deal with the club.

The ambitious 27-year-old now has the chance to show what he can do at the higher level.

Hull boss Grant McCann - who was in charge of Doncaster last season - said: "He was probably one of the best centre forwards in League One last season in terms of the goals he was scoring in a team that wasn’t around the top end of the table, so we’re really pleased.”

Eaves, who bid farewell to the Gills fans this morning, added: "I’m over the moon to be at a club of this magnitude. It’s a new chapter in my career and, having met up with the rest of the lads in Marbella this afternoon, I can’t wait to get going."

Current Gills boss Steve Evans has always assumed the striker would be leaving, having kept in touch with the front-man since taking over as manager.

Eaves' contract with the Gills expired at the end of June.

Evans is currently on the lookout for additional firepower and wants a couple more strikers, having already added Bournemouth loanee Mikael Ndjoli to Gillingham's squad.

Eaves first joined the Gills two summers ago and back then he was far from prolific.

Former director of football Peter Taylor and then manager Ady Pennock hoped they could get the best out of a striker who had scored just seven goals for League 2 Yeovil Town during the 2016/17 season.

The striker insisted 20 goals was the target upon signing at Priestfield and he got close to that figure during his first season, ending the campaign with 18 to his name.

Previous loan spells with Shrewsbury and Bristol Rovers had shown he was capable of being a regular scorer and he found his form with the Gills.

His first season included a red card at Rochdale, a forgettable afternoon which ended Pennock's stint as manager. That dismissal came just days after hitting the winner against Charlton.

But Eaves continued to score under Steve Lovell's management, ending that season with a hat-trick against Plymouth Argyle. It was his second treble of the season after hitting a treble earlier in the campaign against Southend.

Last season was even better for the striker, finishing with 22 goals and a number of clubs chasing his signature. The Gills had already tried without luck in the winter to get him to sign a new deal but Eaves - at the prime of his footballing career - wanted to keep his options open.

He scored twice in the opening home game of last season, against Burton, and an absolute stunner in a 2-0 win over leaders Portsmouth.

A last-gasp penalty strike at Hartlepool in the FA Cup led to the Gills enjoying games against Cardiff City and Swansea in later rounds.

He held his nerve again at Coventry, to earn the Gills a point, with a last-minute penalty goal.

And his time at the Gills was quite fittingly finished with two goals, in a 3-0 win at Blackpool. He said after the game he would cherish the last two years, hailing those seasons as the best in his footballing career so far.

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