Charlton Athletic have secured the signing of midfielder Alex Gilbey from Milton Keynes Dons on a three-year deal.
The 25-year-old arrives at The Valley for an undisclosed fee from Stadium MK where he spent three successful seasons, picking up back-to-back Player of the Year awards, as well as playing a huge part towards their immediate promotion back to the third tier in 2019.
In total, he made 105 appearances for the Dons, scoring 11 goals.
“It’s amazing to be here,” said Gilbey.
“I don’t need to be told how big of a club this is. As soon as I found out there was a bit of interest, I just wanted to get it done as soon as possible.
“The manager is a big pull. I really want to work for him, I’ve heard a lot of good things and I just can’t wait to get going now.
“I’m a high energy player, I like to get up and down and look to score as many goals as possible to just help the team as much as I can.”
He added: “I know Pearcey [Jason Pearce] from Wigan, Chuks [Aneke] from MK Dons and I’m friends with Macauley Bonne because we were in the same youth team at Colchester, so it makes it a lot easier coming into a changing room with friends already.”
Gilbey becomes Bowyer’s first signing of the summer transfer window.
Speaking about the addition, Bowyer said: “I’m over the moon because we’ve brought in a very good player. He’ll bring us a lot of energy in the middle of the park, physicality and goals.
“He’s 25 which is a good age to work with and he’s already got a lot of games under his belt. He was a good player for MK Dons, so we’ll bring him into our environment, look to improve him as a player and make us a better side.”
Director of Football Steve Gallen added: “Alex is a good player. He can run and that’s something me and the manager talk about a lot, but also his mentality to run and his attitude. He gets up and down the pitch and I think the fans will like him.
“When I’ve been showing clips of players to Lee over the last year, this one has always stuck out for him because of his attitude to run, get into the box, score goals and get back in to defend. This is the first bit of the puzzle and hopefully it will come together.”
Gilbey’s career began at Colchester United where he made his debut at the age of 17 before going on to make 121 appearances for the U’s. His performances caught the eye of Wigan Athletic, who brought him into the Championship for the 2016/17 season where he made 15 appearances, scoring twice, prior to his move to MK Dons in the summer of 2017.
