Charlton Athletic are set for a busy summer under Nathan Jones as they look to mount a promotion push next season.
Since the end of the season, Charlton has been connected to a number of forwards following their lowest league finish in 98 years.
The Addicks were linked to Sheffield Wednesday attacker Mallik Wilks and were reportedly interested in Coventry City striker Matty Godden and Motherwell forward Theo Bair.
It looks like Charlton won’t be able to get Bair to The Valley since other League One teams are vying for Wilks, a former Leeds United young player, and Championship clubs are reportedly interested in the Canadian international.
Within weeks of joining the team, Jones made it clear that he preferred to have four strikers in his lineup. Alfie May, the winner of the League One golden boot, Miles Leaburn, Daniel Kanu, and Chuks Aneke are the Welshman’s current alternatives. When Connor Wickham’s short-term contract ended at the end of the season, he was not extended an offer.
| Charlton Athletic – Current strikers’ records in League One in 2023/24, according to Transfermarkt | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player Name | Appearances | Goals |
| Alfie May | 43 | 23 |
| Daniel Kanu | 30 | 6 |
| Miles Leaburn | 13 | 3 |
| Chuks Aneke | 17 | 2 |
| Micah Mbick | 2 | 0 |
| Patrick Casey | 1 | 0 |
Leaburn and Aneke both missed large parts of this season through injury, so it is not a huge surprise to see Charlton being linked with another forward option.
However, they do have strikers within their ranks who could step up and save the club money to spend in other areas.
Miles Leaburn
Leaburn is among the most dynamic strikers in League One thanks to his strength, skill with the ball, and instinctiveness in front of goal, which make him a real threat to opposing defences.
He will undoubtedly be one of Jones’ primary forward options if he can maintain his fitness during the 2024–2025 campaign.
He joined the Addicks at the beginning of the 2022–23 season and has already scored 20 goals for the squad. Since then, he has drawn interest from Premier League teams like Chelsea, Brentford, and Aston Villa. He is only 20 years old.
Leaburn might become an even better player for the Addicks if Jones can work with him for a while. Jones is known for developing players on the training pitch.
Charlton should benefit both financially and on the pitch from concentrating on Leaburn’s development and providing him lots of playing time, as an undisclosed Bundesliga team had a bid of more than £3 million rejected for him last summer.
Daniel Kanu
During the first half of the 2023–24 season, Kanu went on loan to Southend United, a National League team, and it ended up being the ideal decision for the young striker.
After helping the team defeat Solihull Moors 5-0 with four goals in one match, he returned to The Valley with the club in need of another striker because of injury issues.
This season, the forward made 30 appearances in League One for Charlton, scoring six goals. The spectators loved him for his hustle, enthusiasm, and ability to get in behind the defence.
A few days after Jones joined the team, in February, Kanu, who made his Sierra Leonean debut in November, signed a contract extension that would last until 2027.
Jones was undoubtedly persuaded by his season-long performances to be considered for the starting lineup the next season.
Patrick Casey
Patrick Casey, an 18-year-old striker, is one of the most intriguing members of Charlton’s elite academy. The quick young player started his League One career in January, coming off the bench in a 2-1 loss to Oxford United at home.
The Republic of Ireland youth international, who scored 42 goals for Charlton’s youth sides in the 2022–2023 season, inked his first professional deal last summer, tying him to The Valley until 2026.
This season, he has scored 44 goals and established a strong relationship with Micah Mbick, continuing his prolific play.
Though it’s unclear if Casey will play a larger role in the starting lineup the next season, his goal scoring history indicates that Charlton may go to the striker in an emergency.
Micah Mbick
This season, Mbick made five appearances for Charlton’s first team. He scored in his FA Cup debut, helping the team defeat Cray Valley Paper Mills 6-1 in the first round.
The 17-year-old striker equaled Casey’s 44 goals scored throughout the season after signing his first professional contract.
Compared to Casey, the striker has a different type of player profile; he is a genuine prospect due to his strength and finishing ability.
Charlton has four young, gifted strikers in Leaburn, Kanu, Casey, and Mbick. All four may flourish under Jones’ tutelage, saving the club money on new acquisitions, and possibly fetch high transfer fees down the road.
But Charlton’s boss is not going to downplay the value of experience. It appears likely that the Addicks will add at least one new striker to their current first-team options in light of Aneke’s injury issues over the past two seasons.
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