Eli King: Gillingham make late Deadline Day swoop for Cardiff City midfielder
01.09.26, 23:23 Updated 02.09.26, 00:16
Simon Head
Gillingham have made a late Deadline Day move to secure the services of Welsh midfielder Eli King, who arrives at the club on a permanent transfer for an undisclosed fee.
King has spent his professional career on the books of just one club, Cardiff City, though he has had loan spells with a host of lower-division clubs, including Crewe, Morecambe and Stevenage, as well as Ross County in Scotland.
A defensive midfielder by trade, King has made more than 100 career appearances, averaging more than an hour per game. However, he hasn't featured for the Bluebirds since tearing his ACL in August 2025.
King made the dash up to Chesterfield to watch the Gillingham's second-half fightback to earn a point, as he secured his move, and was photographed on the pitch at SMH Group Stadium in a Gills away shirt for his official announcement.
“It’s been a whirlwind today, Deadline Day always is," he told the Gillingham FC official website.
"I trained this morning and then got straight into my car to Chesterfield!
"I’ve made lots of appearances now; as a player I can play as a six or an eight - I like to get on the ball and get around the pitch and pass through the lines.”
Initially, Cardiff had hoped to secure a loan move for the 23-year-old, but Gillingham have made the commitment to sign him permanently, with the player joining the Gills squad ahead of Saturday's away trip to Rochdale.
NEW SIGNING | ELI KING SIGNS FOR THE GILLS!
Eli King: Key Stats
Age: 23
Position: Defensive midfielder
Former clubs: Cardiff City, Crewe Alexandra (loan), Morecambe (loan), Ross County (loan), Stevenage (loan)
Career appearances: 107
Career minutes: 6,961
Goals: 3
Assists: 10
Yellow cards: 11
Red cards: 0
Stats from Transfermarkt
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Simon Head is the founding editor of Gills 365. A veteran sports journalist and editor with more than 25 years in the industry, he has written for major news outlets, broadcasters and sports organisations around the world. Simon is a longtime Gillingham season ticket holder, and has been a regular at Priestfield since the mid-1990s.
