MK Dons have agreed a deal to sign Alex Gilbey, reuniting with their two-time Player of the Year winner.
Gilbey, 28, will officially re-join the Football Club when his contract with Charlton Athletic expires at the end of June.
A fans favourite during his first spell at Stadium MK, the all-action midfielder totalled 105 club appearances between 2017 and 2020 and was a key member of the Dons side that won promotion from Sky Bet League Two in the 2018/19 season.
Gilbey has since gone on to play a further 111 games for Charlton Athletic and Stevenage, achieving a second promotion from Sky Bet League Two with the latter this past campaign.
“I’m over the moon,” Gilbey told iFollow MK Dons in an exclusive interview with iFollow MK Dons. “As soon as I found out there was interest, I wanted to get this done because I wanted to come home and come back to the Club.
“I absolutely loved my time here before – I’d say they were three of the best years of my career so far. I feel like I have some unfinished business to take care of and I want to help the Club get back to where it should be.
“The fans were always great with me and I can’t wait to see them all again. I’m looking forward to meeting my new teammates, working under Graham Alexander and getting started.”
Born in Dagenham, Gilbey began his career with Colchester United, signing professional terms with the Essex club in February 2012. He made 121 appearances for the U’s between 2012 and 2016, also enjoying a loan spell with Newport County during which he won promotion from the National League.
Gilbey departed the Weston Homes Stadium at the end of the 2015/16 season – a campaign which during which he was named Colchester’s Player of the Year - and joined Championship side Wigan Athletic. He spent one full season with the Latics in the second tier before joining MK Dons for an undisclosed fee on Deadline Day in August 2017.
Quickly establishing himself as a fans favourite, Gilbey racked up 105 appearances during his three-year spell at Stadium MK, helping the Dons achieve promotion from Sky Bet League Two in 2018/19. He was named Player of the Year that season and picked up a second successive Player of the Year at the end of the curtailed 2019/20 campaign.
Gilbey moved to Charlton Athletic in the summer that followed and has been with the Addicks ever since, playing 66 times. Last season, though, he spent time on loan at Stevenage, making 45 appearances in their Sky Bet League Two promotion-winning campaign.
Head Coach Graham Alexander said: “We have a clear idea of our recruitment drive this summer. We will sign any player that has the right attributes but there is a need to bring in some know-how and winning experience and Alex brings all that, having been promoted twice from this division, just last season and with this Club as well.
“I know he has a real affection for this Football Club and looking in the whites of his eyes, I saw the motivation he has to do well for all the right reasons. I think we have a really good player on our hands.”
