Gillingham midfielder Luke Rooney has been linked with a move to Swindon after turning down a new deal at Priestfield.

The 20 year old has refused to sign a new contract extension with The Gills and as a consequence Andy Hessenthaler has left him out of his squad for the past couple of games.

With a stalemate between the club and Rooney seemingly certain to run and run, the most likely option is a move in the January transfer window with Swindon boss Paulo Di Canio admitting he would love to sign the winger:

Di Canio told the Advertiser: “I love football to be played on the ground and I love players who have the courage to go one against one and beat his opponent.

“Rooney is one of the players in this division who has impressed me, like one or two players from other clubs have too.

“In my opinion Rooney, even if he can sometimes lose discipline, is one player I like but I can’t say much more because I don’t know what his situation is at Gillingham.

“He is one of three or four wingers I would have, even if I already have very good wingers here already. In my squad I want to have four good wingers, five good strikers and four good central midfielders.”

Di Canio had sung Rooney’s praises before the two clubs met at the County Ground in October and it looks likely that the Swindon boss will be at the front of the queue when it comes to Rooney’s signature.

Whenever Rooney does leave Gillingham he will command a fee because of his age. How much that turns out to be is open to conjecture, but one thing is for certain, if he leaves Gillingham for Swindon, a certain section of the Gills faithful will be less than impressed.