JUST IN: Gillingham has overcome Wrexham and other League Two clubs to sign an outstanding former Leeds United player.

Both Wrexham and Gillingham are expected to be in the mix for the top three in the fourth tier come the end of the 2023-24 campaign, with both having strong squads and managers for the level.

But they have been unable to land a free agent that they were both pretty keen on in the form of Stuart McKinstry.

The 21-year-old winger, who departed Leeds United over the summer after not being offered a new contract, had strong interest from the Priestfield Stadium and the Racecourse Ground, according to the Daily Record.

However, the Scottish youngster is set to return to his roots as he is on the verge of signing for Scottish Championship side Queen’s Park, who are based in Glasgow and not far from his Wishaw birthplace.

Both Neil Harris and Phil Parkinson wanted to add to their wide options clearly with McKinstry at some point, but that will not be happening.

Who is Stuart McKinstry?

McKinstry started his career at Motherwell in Scotland, but he was snapped up by Leeds for their academy system in the summer of 2019 when he was just 16.

Just one year after moving to Elland Road, McKinstry was a regular for the club’s under-21’s side in the Premier League 2 competition during the 2020-21 season, proving to be very versatile as he played both out wide and in the middle of the park under Mark Jackson.

McKinstry continued in United’s under-21’s the following year but he also made his senior debut in September 2021, coming off the bench in a third round EFL Cup victory against Fulham and playing the entire second half, whilst he also appeared in the Premier League for the very first time in November 2021 in a cameo against Tottenham.

For the 2022-23 season though, Leeds let McKinstry return to his former club Motherwell on a season-long loan deal, where he appeared 25 times in all competitions, scoring four goals and assisting twice.

The young winger spent much of the last few months of his time at Fir Park on the bench though, with Motherwell opting not to try and sign him on a permanent basis – now he’s set to turn down EFL advances to join Queen’s Park.

Did Gillingham OR Wrexham need Stuart McKinstry?

If there’s one thing Gillingham perhaps lack in their team, it’s out-and-out wingers.

Dom Jefferies and Connor Mahoney are starting there right now, but Neil Harris lacks depth in those areas and McKinstry, who can operate on either flank, would have been a decent fit.

Wrexham however tend to not utilise wingers and instead, with wing-backs being the name of the game for Phil Parkinson at the Red Dragons.

With the skill-set he has, McKinstry probably would be a good right wing-back, whilst he could also play in the middle of the pitch in the engine room as well.

But an EFL club have definitely missed a trick by not picking the ex-Leeds man up sooner – he is returning home however and that may be what he needs to kick-start his career.