Gillingham FC & Gareth Ainsworth must axe these 3 players during League Two rebuild | OneFootball

Gillingham boss plans to run a leaner squad in 2025/26, and that means moving on from some contracted players.

This summer promises to be something of a reset for Gillingham FC, with manager Gareth Ainsworth already working behind the scenes to set up his squad for 2025/26.

After seasons of underachievement at the Kent club, Ainsworth was brought in with nine league games of the 2024/25 season remaining. The timing of the appointment was to give the former Wycombe, QPR and Shrewsbury boss the chance to run the rule over the Gills’ squad and assess how he wants to shape the playing staff for the season ahead.

With the assessment stage of those nine games over, the club announced its released and retained list, with seven players, including five senior players, leaving the club.

However, their departures likely won’t be the only ones, with Ainsworth making clear his intention to cut down the size of the squad, saying that operating with a squad of 30 or more players “doesn’t work”.

One new signing has already been made – Bristol City striker Seb Palmer-Houlden has put pen to paper on a three-year deal at Priestfield – and it’s likely more are soon to follow. But, in order to ensure Ainsworth has a leaner squad for the coming campaign, that means more players are likely to leave.

Here are three names that could be set for the Gillingham exit door as Ainsworth looks to make the Gills squad stronger, but leaner, in 2025/26.

Jack Nolan

The biggest underachiever at the club since his highly-touted signing last summer, Nolan arrived from Accrington Stanley with a big reputation after a stellar season that saw him contribute 17 goals and nine assists.

However, despite a promising start and a goal on his debut in the season opener against Carlisle United, Nolan failed to come close to the sort of output he produced for Accrington. After 31 league appearances for the Gills last season, he contributed just that opening day goal and three assists.

Stats aside, his body language suggested that he was a player who wasn’t happy, and in a refreshingly honest interview, he admitted that he’d been struggling with his confidence, as well as his form.

Sadly for both him and Gillingham, it looks like his signing is one that just hasn’t worked out for either party, and a change may be as beneficial for the player as it is for the club.

Jake Turner

Turner started the season as Gillingham’s starter between the sticks, but a training ground injury forced him out of action through September and much of October as he missed eight successive league games.

He returned in late October and was immediately returned to the side, but by mid-December, he had lost the starting job to veteran stopper Glenn Morris, and hasn’t had a look in since.

In truth, he’s struggled to convince as a reliable presence between the sticks for the Gills, with Morris’ calm consistency highlighting the difference between the pair. And with Ainsworth looking to refresh and improve his squad, the Gills boss may look for a new face – Jamal Blackman is a name that’s already been linked – to offer competition between the sticks, with Turner allowed to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Marcus Wyllie

A summer signing that came out of leftfield, Marcus Wyllie’s arrival at Gillingham was seen as a low-risk gamble by the club’s recruitment team. Unfortunately, after a season that saw him make an impression at Priestfield, it appears to have been one that hasn’t worked out.

Wyllie arrived at Priestfield with a good goalscoring record from the National League South with Enfield Town, but after signing his first professional contract with the Gills, Wyllie struggled to earn enough playing time to really get to grips with life at League Two level. After just 12 appearances, and only completing 90 minutes twice, Wyllie was loaned out to Dagenham & Redbridge to get some more experience, but no goals in 10 games, and failing to complete 90 minutes in any of his appearances for the Daggers, suggests that he still hasn’t found his feet yet, even at National League level.

His movement and footballing brain suggest there’s some potential there, but with Ainsworth looking to trim his squad, is there room to carry a player who, based on what we’ve seen so far, isn’t quite ready for this level of football? The smart move for both parties could be a parting of the ways, with Wyllie moving to a National League side in a bid to establish himself fully, with a more proven forward being brought in to replace him.