Mikael Mandron has left Gillingham after signing for Crewe Alexandra on a free transfer on Saturday morning.

The 25-year-old moves on after just one year with the Kent club, in which he scored six goals from 28 appearances. His most memorable performance came in the final game before lockdown, where he scored a brace – including a last-minute equaliser – away to Sunderland, one of his former clubs.

Upon his arrival in Crewe, he told his new club’s Twitter account: “The key factor was the philosophy of the club. It is a club that is really focused on playing good football, playing out from the back, so that was really the main thing for me.

“When I met with the manager, he went into really good detail about how they do things here and how he sees me in the team. It was really appealing.

“I cannot wait to get started. It’s been so long since I played and trained properly so I’m looking forward to it.”

The length of the deal hasn’t been disclosed, and Gills manager Steve Evans is yet to comment on the departure, although the club Twitter account did post: ““We would like to thank Mika for his services, and we wish him well for the future.”

Mandron had been offered a deal to stay at Gillingham but has decided to move on and take up a new opportunity.

He was by no means a regular under Steve Evans, but was an important squad member and chipped in with some important goals, such as in the game at Sunderland, and against Lincoln earlier on in the season at Priestfield, where he netted the only goal in a 1-0 win.

The Gills will have to move to replace Mandron. The club only have one striker – John Akinde – on their books, with a contract on the table to fellow forward Brandon Hanlan. Although Mandron was not your standard target man, he did stand at 6’3, and the Gills may want someone of a similar build to take his place.

Akinde is a strong, powerful forward, though, and he is likely to be first choice at Priestfield with a full pre-season under his belt after joining for a fee back in January.