Gillingham midfielder Henry Woods leaves Priestfield for Maidstone United

Maidstone have signed midfielder Henry Woods from Gillingham.

The 22-year-old arrives at the Gallagher after spending last season on loan at Dover Athletic.

Woods came through the academy at Priestfield and played 13 times for the first team, including several appearances in League 1.

He signed a new contract with the Gills a year ago but was free to leave this summer.

Living in the County Town, he was well aware of Maidstone’s National South title success and is ready to show what he can do after signing from their old rivals.

Woods, speaking to Stones TV, said: “I’ve been living in the area now for the last seven months, so the whole of last season, I saw the buzz behind the club with the results, the performances and where you were in the table.

“I know it’s a bit of a difficult one coming across from Gillingham but I’m hoping on the pitch I can work hard and show the fans what I can do.”

While it was a difficult campaign for Dover, finishing with only one point after starting on -12, Woods emerged with valuable National League experience.

Indeed, he made 40 league appearances, including 38 starts, and scored in a 3-2 defeat by Wealdstone last November.

“The situation we were trying to overcome with the points and everything, it was difficult, it was always an uphill battle,” said Woods.

“But the experience of playing in the league, I got to know what the league was about.

“I played 40 times so I played a lot of games and hopefully that can put me in good stead for this season.”

Woods also had loan spells with Sittingbourne and Concord Rangers during his time with the Gills.

He’s the fourth summer signing at Maidstone, with Sol Wanjau-Smith, Hady Ghandour and Jack Cawley all joining over the past couple of weeks.