Sought-after defender Jack Tucker has agreed to join MK Dons on July 1.
Tucker, 22, will sign for the Dons on a long-term deal once his contract with Gillingham expires at the end of this month.
As an out of contract under-24 player, the Gills are due compensation and the two clubs are currently in dialogue regarding an appropriate settlement.
Tucker has totalled 137 appearances since progressing through the Gillingham youth ranks, 50 of which came during the 2021/22 campaign. He was named the Gills’ Young Player of the Season last term, winning the title for the third successive season.
“I’m delighted,” Tucker told iFollow MK Dons. “I definitely feel like MK Dons is the right place for me to develop my career further.
“I met with the Head Coach and Liam Sweeting and they sold the Club to me, which is impressive in itself. They showed real enthusiasm to bring me here and that, along with the ideas they had for me, made me really want to come here.
“I followed how MK Dons did at the end of last season and the Club had an impressive campaign. I have played MK Dons a few times and I know how tough they make it for other teams so I’m looking forward to being on the right side of that from now on.”
Born in Kent, Tucker joined Gillingham as a seven-year-old and progressed through the youth set-up before making his debut as a substitute, aged 17, in a Sky Bet League One fixture with Portsmouth in October 2017.
The centre-back spent time on loan with Greenwich Borough and Hastings United before establishing himself within the Gills first-team squad during the 2019/20 season, after penning a long-term deal to remain at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium.
After making 34 appearances that campaign, Tucker then put together back-to-back 50-game seasons for the Gills, winning the Young Player of the Year award at the end of each year.
His impressive displays saw him linked with a host of clubs this summer, including teams in the Sky Bet Championship, but the 22-year-old has chosen Stadium MK as his next destination.
Sporting Director Liam Sweeting said: “Jack is an excellent signing for the Football Club and someone we have been keen to bring here for a long time.
“He is, first and foremost, an excellent professional and has the type of characteristics we look for to represent MK Dons. On the pitch he is another player we feel has huge potential to develop further within our culture, under Liam’s guidance and within our style of play.
"I look forward to helping him settle in Milton Keynes and seeing him at Stadium MK soon.”
Head Coach Liam Manning added: “Jack is somebody who we have been after for some time and we are delighted to have been able to bring him to the Football Club.
“He has the attributes, physically and technically, that what we want from a player in his position and we saw that first-hand when he played in a midfield role against us in January. His personality is also a perfect fit for the culture we continue to establish here at the Club.”
