Gillingham boss Steve Evans has revealed he wanted to sign Preston North End striker Jayden Stockley in the last transfer window, as per a report by Kent Online.
The Gills missed out on landing him to Charlton Athletic and he is expected to line up against them this weekend.
Stockley, who is 27 years old, joined the Addicks on a loan deal until the end of the season and Lee Bowyer’s side fended off plenty of competition to get him.
The attacker was also believed to be on the radar of Sunderland and Hull City, as reported by Football League World, but ended up moving to the Valley.
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Gillingham boss Evans has admitted he wanted him: “When Preston announced they were letting him out on loan I don’t think there was a club in League 1 who didn’t want him. We certainly wanted him.
“I spoke to Alex Neil (the North End manager) and was in contact via messages with Peter Risdale (advisor to the club’s owner) and the reality is that we couldn’t get anywhere near the type of money that Preston expected to recover. You therefore realise his choices would be some big clubs in League 1 and he chose Charlton.”
Read: Why Charlton Athletic are more likely to offer 10-goal man a new deal now
Stockley joined Preston in January 2019 and has since scored nine goals in 69 games for the Lilywhites altogether. However, he managed just one goal in 16 appearances in all competitions this term and they gave him the green light to leave for League One.
He has previously impressed in League Two for Exeter City and earned a move to Deepdale after firing 40 goals in 75 matches for the Grecians.
Stockley has also played for Bournemouth and Aberdeen in the past and is now having a new challenge at Charlton.
