WITH very few exceptions, no Gillingham signing can have been greeted with as much anticipation as ADE AKINBIYI. BBC Radio Kent's Matt Davison takes a quick look at Ade's Gills career...

After six months of haggling with Norwich, the Canaries finally parted with their man, effectively for £250,000 (although it was a bit more complicated than that) and the man never let us down.

Armed with dreadlocks (which soon disappeared) and an extravagant goal celebration routine, he soon impressed Gills fans with his determination, exquisite touch, and, let's not deny it, his goals.

He was by no means the type of striker who hung around the net to tap in the loose ball. His goals were often of the highest quality, and the somersault that followed many of his goals sent the crowd into delight.

Gillingham were in the middle of a rain affected cup run when he signed, so he couldn't make his Priestfield bow until three weeks after his signing, but he didn't let us down. He scored the fourth goal of a 4-1 win over Plymouth, and in his 18 months at the club he netted a total of 29 goals from 68 games, perhaps most memorably his two in a home win over Fulham.

Akinbiyi, moved to Leicester City in the summer of 2000 but never really reached his full potential. In fact Ade netted just 13 times for the Foxes in 68 appearances (including a friendly against Gillingham). Ade transferred to Crystal Palace for £2.2 million in February 2002.