Three players released by the Gills at the end of last season have joined the PFA for pre-season training.
The Professional Footballers’ Association is in its third season of running training camps and pre-season matches for their members who find themselves without a club.
Goalkeeper Jake Turner, midfielder Jonny Williams and winger Aaron Rowe are among the 39 free agent players who are joining in with week one of the PFA’s camp.
Former Gills striker John Marquis is also among the players hoping to earn a deal with a new club.
Champneys Springs health spa in Leicestershire is the base for the footballers.
Williams ended three seasons with the Gills at the end of the last campaign, and on checking into the PFA venue, said: “I’m looking forward to getting fit and strong with some players I’ve played with and against.”
Former Welsh international Williams, 32, joined the Gills in the summer of 2023 but was left disappointed, leaving after 94 league appearances, with two goals to his name and unfulfilled promotion hopes.
Rowe, 25, spent two seasons with the Gills, but struggled to make an impact. Twenty of his 43 league appearances came off the bench.
Goalkeeper Jake Turner, 27, joined the Gills from Newcastle United and made 69 league appearances for the club.
He played 40 games in the 2023/24 season but current boss Gareth Ainsworth had favoured veteran stopper Glenn Morris as the no.1 choice.
Also on the PFA pre-season camp is 34-year-old striker Marquis, who played under Ainsworth at Shrewsbury. He enjoyed a decent spell with the Gills over a decade ago, scoring eight goals in 18 league starts while on loan from Millwall.
The PFA camp is fully funded by the players’ trade union, offering unsigned professionals “an intense and structured training environment over the summer period, mirroring pre-season preparations within clubs.”
Camps run throughout the summer over 12 weeks, from June 29 until September 16, and are open to all unattached, out-of-contract PFA members who were signed on a pro contract during the past season.
Since its launch in the 2022/23 season, PFA pre-season has helped hundreds of free agents land new deals with clubs.
The PFA say: “The initiative gives out-of-contract members a residential training base during the off-season, with daily on-pitch training sessions, strength and conditioning, friendly fixtures, and wrap-around physical and mental wellbeing support.”
A schedule of 10 pre-season friendly fixtures has been arranged for PFA camp attendees, with weekly free agent squads set to face a range of opposition including development teams at Fulham, West Brom, and QPR.
Gillingham released 12 senior players at the end of last season, with their League Two rivals Oldham snapping up Elliott Nevitt on a free and Grimsby Town signing Josh Andrews.
Veteran keeper Glenn Morris has joined Dorking Wanderers while midfielder Euan Williams is hoping a move to Dover Athletic can help revive his career.
