Gillingham in transfer talks for out of favour Wrexham AFC defender | OneFootball

Gillingham are reported to be in talks to sign Wrexham defender Will Boyle, who is not expected to feature at The Racecourse Ground next season.

League Two club Gillingham are in talks to sign defender Will Boyle from Wrexham, according to reports.

The Gills finished the 2024/25 season in a lowly 17th position in League Two, but they seem determined not to repeat this with agrgessive transfer business this summer, and they have a manager in Gareth Ainsworth who knows how to win promotion.

Wrexham meanwhile are preparing for life in the Championship following their promotion from League One alongside Birmingham City and Charlton Athletic at the end of the 2024/25 season, but space will need to be made in their first-team squad if they're to strengthen.

Gillingham in talks to sign Wrexham outcast Will Boyle

Journalist Alan Nixon has reported that Gillingham are "in talks" to land Will Boyle, who has been out of favour at the Racecourse Ground for some time.

The 29-year-old arrived at the North Wales outfit back in the summer of 2023, with Wrexham at the time landing a centre-back with promotion experience from League Two and a full season of League One football under his belt with Cheltenham Town, albeit he didn't play much at Huddersfield Town prior to his move to Phil Parkinson's side.

Boyle played 24 times in the Red Dragons' fourth tier promotion campaign in 2023-24, but didn't get a single minute of League One action last season, which should pave the way for an exit from the club this summer.

He still has one year remaining on his contract however, so it may require a small fee from the Gills to land the services of Boyle, unless Wrexham agree to mutually terminate his deal to allow him to move on for no fee whatsoever.

Boyle could be a valuable addition, as Gillingham seek to get back to promotion-winning form under Gareth Ainsworth

There's no question that Will Boyle is familiar with League Two. Not only was he part of the Wrexham squad that won promotion from that division at the end of the 2023/24 season, but he also spent five years there with Cheltenham Town, winning promotion with them in 2021.

Considering all of this experience at this level, Boyle's signature would be an excellent one for Gillingham and their manager Gareth Ainsworth.

The Gills have struggled somewhat at this level since relegation from League One in 2022, failing to finish above mid-table in the three full seasons since then.

Boyle has played Championship football before. He left Cheltenham for Huddersfield Town in 2022, but only made 16 appearances for them and was transferred to Wrexham after just one season.

According to Salary Sport estimates, Boyle might not be cheap, even if there's no transfer fee involved. They estimate his Wrexham salary to be £5,400-a-week, and they estimate Gillingham's current highest-earner to be on £4,500-a-week.

But having won promotion from this division twice before, Boyle has exactly the experience that Ainsworth will be looking for if Gillingham are to push up the table next season.

Wrexham, meanwhile, are only just starting what seems likely to be an extremely busy summer themselves, and may well welcome the opportunity to clear Boyle from their books.