Gillingham captain Armani Little and Saturday’s match-winner Garath McCleary have both had their contracts extended – but plenty are being released.
The Gills are hoping to rebuild this summer after another season of disappointment, finishing the League Two season sitting 17th, the same place they ended the previous campaign.
Boss Gareth Ainsworth has 13 senior players left and will oversee the changes this summer.
The manager has made no secret of his admiration for Little and McCleary, and the club have activated contract extensions for both, as they recently did for Bradley Dack.
The club have also taken up the option of a contract extension for young forward Damien Theodore.
Professional deals have been offered to Cruz Beszant, Louie Dayal and Michael Luxton.
Big striker Josh Andrews is on the way out, along with 13 others.
He wasn’t in the weekend squad, and the 24-year-old leaves with five league goals to his name from 55 league games.
Ironically, his last touch in a Gills shirt was to score a goal, the final kick of the game in a 6-2 loss at Barnet a fortnight ago.
The club had high hopes for the striker, signing him for a fee from Birmingham City when he was injured in the hope of getting ahead of other clubs to his signature, but the move hasn’t worked out.
Andrews leaves along with fellow striker Marcus Wyllie, a player who joined the Gills with a brilliant goalscoring record in non-league but was unable to make an impact in the EFL.
Wyllie, 26, gave up a full-time job for the dream of professional football, and he leaves after two seasons at Gillingham. He had a spell on loan at Dagenham last season and finished the current campaign with a half -season loan at Ebbsfleet.
Prior to the weekend, it was announced that veteran keeper Glenn Morris was leaving. He’ll be joined on the way out by fellow stopper Jake Turner, who has been with the Gills for the last four seasons, making 69 league appearances during that time.
Defenders Max Clark, Shad Ogie and Conor Masterson are leaving when their contracts expire this summer. Ogie is currently injured and is expected to remain under the club’s watch while undergoing rehab.
Midfielder Jonny Williams, a high-profile signing when he joined in the summer of 2023, is also leaving, heading for the exit after making 93 league appearances for the Gills but not fulfilling his hopes of a promotion push with his local league side.
His last game for the Gills on Saturday was his 400th club game of his career.
Also leaving are winger Aaron Rowe and attacking midfielder Euan Williams, who has spent most of the last two years out injured.
Gillingham signed Cameron Antwi and Omar Beckles midway through the season, but both will be looking to make an impact next term after injuries scuppered hopes of helping the Gills after making their moves to Priestfield.
Beckles played nine games before picking up a season-ending injury while Antwi only managed four games and one start.
Loan player Travis Akomeah will return to Watford after a handful of appearances, while experienced front-man Sam Vokes has retired. Striker Elliott Nevitt leaves after a half-season on loan at Cambridge United where he picked up a promotion medal under Neil Harris.
Nevitt made 15 appearances for Cambridge, all but one of them coming off the bench and without a goal. He’ll be looking to find a club where he can reignite his career. Nevitt scored six league goals in 58 games.
The 19 players remaining for next season are: Taite Holtam (GK), Remeao Hutton, Sam Gale, Logan Dobbs, Andy Smith, Omar Beckles, Robbie McKenzie, Harry Webster, Armani Little, Ethan Coleman, Harry Waldock, Nelson Khumbeni, Bradley Dack, Cameron Antwi, Garath McCleary, Stan Sargent, Seb Palmer-Houlden, Ronan Hale, Damien Theodore.
Professional deals offered: Cruz Beszant, Louie Dayal and Michael Luxton.
The 14 Released: Glenn Morris, Jake Turner, Max Clark, Shad Ogie, Conor Masterson, Lenni Cirino, Jonny Williams, Aaron Rowe, Stanley Skipper, Euan Williams, Elliott Nevitt, Marcus Wyllie, Josh Andrews, Harry Bridle.
Retired: Sam Vokes
