Steve Evans has added to his defensive options with the capture of Alfie Jones from Southampton.

Gillingham have signed centre-back Alfie Jones on a season long loan from Premier League side Southampton.

The 21-year-old trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday morning at Beechings Cross and could make his first appearance in Saturday’s pre-season friendly at Faversham Town on Saturday.

Jones came through the academy setup at St. Mary’s Stadium and has made seven appearances for the club, all of which coming in the Checkatrade Trophy. He made his debut for the Saints against Charlton in August 2016 at the Valley in a 0-0 draw.

Last season he went out on loan to St. Mirren in the Scottish Premier League and made 15 appearances in total, scoring one goal.

After completing the deal, Alfie told the club's official website:

“It all happened quite quickly after meeting the manager, once he showed interest it was a no brainer. I want to be part of this journey and hopefully we can go on and do well.

“There are a lot of talented players here; I want to improve as a player and a person and help the club move up the league.”

Manager Steve Evans added: “I’m delighted to confirm that he has put pen to paper. I had a couple of hours with him on Monday when he was making his final choice and he confirmed late last night.

“He’s a big, strong powerful boy and played a number of games in the SPL. We tracked him in the last few months of last season and we all recognised we were light in the centre-back area. Alfie offers real strength in competition for places.”