Some big names who have left Gillingham in recent seasons have found themselves jostling with hundreds of others looking for a new club this summer.

From leading scorer Tom Eaves to top goalkeeper Tomas Holy and one-time youth sensation Luke Freeman, the market is awash with players who have made a name for themselves at Gillingham - and some who didn’t make so much of an impact.

Each summer clubs across the country have a clear-out - the Gills got rid of nine players themselves - and it’s seen some familiar figures looking for new challenges. We take a look at some of the old Priestfield players looking for a new club.

Eaves left the Gills in the summer of 2019 after they were unable to match his demands after the striker twice led the scoring charts at the club during his two-year stay, leaving with 38 league goals from 69 starts. He’s spent the last three years with Hull City, winning the League 1 title with the Tigers and scoring 18 goals in 108 appearances.

Giant Czech keeper Holy left the Gills at the same time as Eaves, another of Ady Pennock’s signings that came good. It was a dream move for the 6’9” stopper to play in England and after working his way into the no.1 spot he became hot property. He moved to Ipswich Town in 2019 but has been released after making 57 league appearances for them.

Both Eaves and Holy are now aged 30 but still have plenty of years in them and will no doubt be attracting attention from some top teams in the lower tiers.

Another striker who won’t have a problem getting a move is John Marquis - also aged 30 - after his departure from Lincoln City. He enjoyed a successful loan spell at the Gills during the second half of the 2014/15 season. Former boss Justin Edinburgh wanted him to stay permanently but he opted to return to Millwall, who were then managed by Neil Harris.

Marquis ended up signing permanently for Doncaster in 2016, hitting 61 goals in three seasons and moving to Portsmouth and then Lincoln in January. He’s been linked with a summer move to Charlton.

Big striker Mikael Mandron spent less than a season with the Gills under former boss Steve Evans, his time being cut short because of the Covid pandemic.

The Frenchman’s last appearance for Gillingham came at Sunderland in March 2020 where he scored a stoppage-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw. He moved to Crewe that summer and did well enough in a poor team these last two years before rejecting their new contract offer. Better things await for the 27-year-old, he will hope.

Freeman, now 30, was a player who made headlines at Gillingham when he first appeared in an FA Cup game at Barnet aged just 15 and 233 days. He became the club’s youngest ever player when turning out for Mark Stimson’s side and at the time was also the youngest player to have appeared in the proper rounds of the FA Cup.

He only made three substitute appearances for the Gills before they cashed in and sold him to Arsenal, then managed by Arsene Wenger, moving for a reported fee of £200,000, with add-ons.

Freeman never played for the Gunners but the experience was invaluable and he’s gone onto have a successful career in the game, playing for Stevenage, Bristol City, QPR and Sheffield United, where he made 11 appearances in the Premier League and on loan at Nottingham Forest. He went to Millwall on loan in January but picked up a hamstring injury on his debut, his one and only appearance for them. He’s now a free agent.

Recently departed defender Rhys Bennett, 30, is looking for a new club after being let go by Morecambe. His contract at the Gills was terminated at the end of January after just 18 appearances, moving to Morecambe on a deal until the end of the season. He started 11 league games for his new side but has been told he is no longer required.

Defender Josh Pask is looking for a new club after being released by Coventry City. He came to the Gills on loan from West Ham in August 2016, making 15 appearances for the club.

Playing in the same Gills team during the 16/17 season was striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, a player who did things others couldn’t, but divided opinion as he could just as easily look uninterested.

Despite his skills, Pennock didn’t want him and ended the loan from QPR early. The former Arsenal man spent time playing in Thailand and then moved to Scottish side Livingston and most recently with Aberdeen, who terminated his contract in April, halfway through a two-year deal.

Gillingham signed big French midfielder Ouss Cisse with plenty of hype, former boss Evans talking up the player’s “defensive power” but he was out of favour after just two league starts. He went onto get plenty of action at Leyton Orient before moving to Oldham last summer, making just 11 appearance during the 21/22 campaign.

Cisse was one of 13 players let go this summer by the side who finished second bottom in League 2 and will be playing non-league football next term.

Talking of Evans, the former Gills boss, now at Stevenage, released 15 players at the end of a disappointing season for the club. Right-back Luke O’Neill and goalkeeper Sacha Bastien were among them.

O’Neill made 76 league appearances for the Gills over two seasons between 2017 and 2019 but left with the club looking for a new manager after Steve Lovell’s departure. He had two years at Wimbledon and a brief spell at Stevenage after joining them in January.

Bastien joined the Gills in January 2021 as a backup to Jack Bonham after selling Joe Walsh to QPR. He had worked previously with Ian Pledger, then the goalkeeper coach at Priestfield, but he never made an appearance. Evans didn’t use him at Stevenage either.

League 2 Salford City included 13 released players on their list, including Matty Willock. He left the Gills last summer and returned up north where he played 11 games for the Ammies, neighbours of Manchester United, where he started his career. He’s now looking for a new club.

Other former Gills players looking for a new opportunity are Michael Harriman, who had a loan spell from QPR and had been with Northampton Town for the last three years, and Scott Flinders, the experienced keeper who made nine appearances on loan from Crystal Palace but now at 35 is a free agent after being released by Cheltenham Town.