Bentley: Possibily going to see his career finish at the Priestfield
Midfielder, and part-time centre back, Mark Bentley, arrived at Gillingham from Roots Hall in the summer of 2006 after helping us win the League One Championship.
Not happy to be offered a one year contract by the Shrimpers at that time, Bentley, now 32, was more than happy to put pen to paper for just 12 months four years later, though he has a clause in his contract that will automatically trigger another year when he reaches a certain number of appearances.
Many would have liked to have seen Bentley back in a Southend shirt to add experience to what could be a young squad next season, not that we can sign anyone at the moment, and he showed he can still do the business, especially in a game for the Gills against against Leeds last April, when he also scored to crown a man of the match performance.
Though Mark couldn't stop Gillingham from joining the Shrimpers being relegated into League Two for 2010/11, this news is not surprising with previous quotes from the player expressing his wish to stay down in Kent.
Bentley told www.kentonline.co.uk: "I want to stay at the club and there are just a few tweaks that need doing before I agree a deal. I've played 170 games for the club and I feel like I've been a good servant down the years. I've got a big determination to help get the club back into League One."
Ex-Blues skipper Kevin Maher remains with one year left on his contract, any rumours of him joining Tilly as the new Shrimpers No. 2 are likely to remain just that, while former keeper Simon Royce joined League One Brentford as a player/coach.
New Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler is now just waiting on one more former Blue in centre back Garry Richards to complete his negotiations with all the club's out of contract players.