Bradford City negotiate deal for Gillingham midfielder George Lapslie – a move which would free up funds for manager Mark Bonner in the January transfer window

Gillingham midfielder George Lapslie is set to be leaving the club imminently - a move which will help fund new additions.

A deal is understood to have been agreed with Gills’ League 2 rivals Bradford City – with their manager Graham Alexander confirming on Sunday that talks have taken place.

Gillingham will be keen to get a deal concluded as quickly as possible as they need players to leave to free up funds for new arrivals.

Alexander said after their 2-1 win over Chesterfield that a deal hadn’t been rubberstamp but he believed a deal had been agreed between the clubs and had spoken to the player personally, saying: “We hope will join as soon as the window opens.”

Lapslie was first made available for transfer at the end of last season but there were no takers and the 27-year-old remained part of Mark Bonner’s first-team - scoring a winning goal earlier in the season at Morecambe.

He was on target again recently, netting the equaliser against Cheltenham in a 2-2 draw, but was then surprisingly absent for the game at Colchester on Boxing Day.

Bonner put his recent absence down to illness.

Lapslie was one of several players signed when the Galinsons took over the club two years ago, helping the Gills climb off the bottom of League 2 and finish the season mid-table.

Those signings didn’t come cheap, with the likes of Tom Nichols, Tim Dieng and Oli Hawkins also joining the club as Gillingham’s new owners splashed the cash to avoid dropping out of the Football League.

Current boss Bonner now wants some of his own men and he needs to offload before he can make signings. Getting Lapslie off the wage bill will be a good start to the club’s January plans.

His form for the Gills has never managed to reach the heights that were