Gillingham landed their first signing of the summer this week after beating off many of their League 1 rivals.

Yeovil Town’s player-of-the-year Alex Lacey was a wanted man after being the standout performer for a team who struggled at the wrong end of League 2 last season.

He rejected a two-year deal to stay with Yeovil and turned down advances from a string of other clubs, with Charlton Athletic, Oxford United, Bristol Rovers and relegated Coventry City all reportedly showing interest in signing the free agent.

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Lacey said: “I did have interest (elsewhere) but I am delighted to have committed to Gillingham

“I have the opportunity to step up and play and continue with my development. At other teams I might not have played so much but hopefully I can hit the ground running and enjoy a good season ahead."

“The prospect of playing in League 1 and the step up was attractive. When I met Ady, it reinforced that. It’s a good professional set-up and the club are ambitious.”

Yeovil were disappointed to lose the defender, who played 72 times for them in all competitions over the last two seasons.

Town boss Darren Way said: “I’m proud of Alex’s development at Yeovil Town. We offered him a fantastic deal to remain at Huish Park but he wanted to play at a higher level. We wish him all the best.”

Gillingham kept just three clean sheets in the league last season – the worst record in the division. It’s an issue everyone is keen to see rectified, none more so than the chairman Paul Scally.

He said: “It is pretty clear that the issues (last season) were based around defending, as individuals and a team, more so as a team.

“Given that Ady was a defender and spent many years working under (Tony) Pulis, who was a master of defending, it is fair to assume that the issues weren’t of Ady’s doing.”