Maidstone born Dean is a combative central midfielder who originally joined Gillingham's Centre of Excellence at the age of eight.

He signed apprentice forms in the summer of 2008 and caught the eye with a series of impressive performances for the youth team.

His form earned him a call up to the senior squad and a place on the subs bench for the Gills FA Cup Third Round tie with Aston Villa.

Dean has continued to progress well this season and finished the campaign as leading scorer for the Youth Team, before signing his first professional contract with the club at the end of May.