Joe Gbode’s weekend double came amid speculation over his future at Gillingham – with reports of interest from Luton Town.
A figure of £500,000 has been spoken of and Gills manager Gareth Ainsworth wasn’t surprised to hear the rumours of interest for their promising young striker.
Gbode, 20, broke into the Gillingham first team during the last campaign in League 2 and is now set to play a big part in the season ahead.
He’s impressed over pre-season, with a well-taken goal against Ebbsfleet United in the week and two more at Dartford on Saturday, where he was the standout player.
Gbode played 75 minutes against Luton when the teams met at Priestfield for a friendly match earlier this summer.
Responding to the current speculation, Ainsworth said: “I’m not surprised at all, but we keep our business in-house and we won’t let anything go out.
“I’m very experienced with the game, and gone are the days when we’ll talk about any business coming in, going out, whatever it is, that’s the way I believe football clubs should work.
“In the world of social media, things get rife out of hand and put everywhere.
“We’re really proud and happy that people are linked with our players.
“I think there was rumours about Sam Gale. It’s always going on. I didn’t play him for a week and I think he’d gone somewhere in the Championship, but he certainly played (on Saturday) and got a good half under his belt.
“These rumours will come and go but we’ll keep everything in-house.”
Luton fans had been hoping to see QPR’s Charlie Kelman sign for them but the former Gills loan forward is being heavily linked to Charlton Athletic.
Gbode’s numbers don’t stand out – with just three league goals in over 40 appearances – but the player is improving at a rapid pace and his pre-season form has shown he could play a big role this season. He can play out wide or in the central areas, giving Ainsworth plenty of options of where to use him.
Gbode struck inside four minutes at Dartford and scored again in the opening half. He had another goalbound effort blocked and other attempts that went close.
“He’s definitely maturing as a player,” said Ainsworth.
“I love working with Joe. I think we’ve got some cracking work to do with him and positioning-wise, I say to him, ‘I’ll coach the areas to receive the ball in, to get you high up the pitch on the ball. The rest is up to you’. He proved (on Saturday) just exactly what a handful he can be.
“He can go both ways. He’s got a great left. He’s got a good right. He scored two goals. The second one was trying to be claimed by somebody else, stabbing it in, but I think it went to Joe.
“The first one was a very assured finish, just like it was at Ebbsfleet the other night. He’s a young talent.”
Gale had missed the last three games but returned to stand in for right-back Remeao Hutton, managing 45 minutes before being replaced by Andy Smith.
Ainsworth said: “Remeao didn’t make the trip for one reason or another and Sam’s really good – he’s not been sold Remeao, he’s still part of the squad.
“Sam’s a really great deputy at right-back, or right-wing-back. His main position is centre-half, obviously, but he’s got all the attributes to play anywhere across that back line and really comfortable with him there.”
