Gillingham will be thankful former favourite turned down "good money, an apartment, a car" elsewhere | OneFootball

Tomas Holy turned down the chance to move to Georgia in 2017, joining Gillingham instead

After a two-and-a-half year spell at Gillingham, Tomas Holy is fondly remembered as an excellent goalkeeper who played a key role in his time with the club.

The move to Priestfield Stadium in 2017 was the first time that Holy had played outside his homeland of the Czech Republic, and he'd go onto spend seven years on these shores before departing in the summer of 2024, playing for a number of different EFL clubs.

It meant that Holy's decision to move to England back in January 2017 was vindicated, and Gillingham supporters will surely have been delighted that he chose to snub a move to Georgia after leaving Sparta Prague in a bid to earn a contract in the English system.

Gillingham faithful will be thankful that Tomas Holy turned down lucrative Georgian move

Holy had struggled for game time while at Sparta Prague, spending time on loan with lower league sides, so he looked to move and build a career in England, turning down a move to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

It's clear that Holy was adamant about moving to England, and despite the deal in Georgia being far more lucrative, he rejected it in favour of the Gills.

Speaking to Kent Online in 2019, Holy said: "I could have got good money, an apartment, a car, everything, playing at the top level but the rest of the league is seriously bad and I said no.

"I love the sport and I love football. I want to play good football, nice football, in front of brilliant people. I wouldn’t go just anywhere."

It's fair to say that Gillingham supporters would have been delighted with Holy's decision to pursue a career in England rather than accept a deal to play in the Georgian top-flight, and he became a real fan favourite at Priestfield.

It took him a little while to break into the Gills' starting XI, making his debut in March 2017, but from then on he became a mainstay in the team, missing just one league game during the 2017/18 season, before playing every single game in League One the following campaign.

He made a whopping 52 appearances during the 2018/19 campaign, helping his side reach the fourth round of the FA Cup after claiming a notable scalp against Premier League side Cardiff City, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win.

After an impressive two-and-half year stay in Kent, Holy had his sights on bigger things and he rejected an offer from Gillingham to sign for Ipswich Town, who had just been relegated from the Championship.

While losing Holy was a huge blow, supporters could have no qualms about him leaving, and after 25 clean sheets in 107 appearances for the club, Gillingham will always be grateful that he turned down that lucrative move to Georgia.

After seven years in England, Tomas Holy has returned to the Czech Republic

Holy spent three years at Ipswich Town following his Gillingham exit, and while he made 65 appearances for the Tractor Boys, he spent time on loan at a number of EFL clubs.

There were short-term loan spells with both Cambridge United and Port Vale during spells out of Ipswich's starting XI, and he was released by Kieran McKenna in the summer of 2022 after dropping to the club's third choice.

However, he remained in English football and joined Carlisle United on a two-year deal in the summer of 2022. His first season at Brunton Park was a success, playing 52 games in all competitions as he helped them to promotion to League One, but he struggled for game time during his second campaign after being dropped for Harry Lewis.

That has seemingly brought down the curtain on Holy's time in English football, and in October he signed for Czech side FK Baník Most-Souš in the Bohemian Football League.

The Bohemian Football League is the third tier of Czech football, so it's a surprise to see Holy dropping to that level, but at this stage of his career a return to his homeland and playing regular football clearly appealed to him.

Now 33, Holy's best days are probably behind him, but there's no doubt that the best years of his career came at Gillingham and Gills supporters will forever be thankful he opted for the Priestfield Stadium, rather than a lucrative move to Tbilisi.