Summer Window 2026 - Rumours and Discussion

Sword65pf

covered_end_junior said:

801912601 said:

As this is a rumours thread I was told last night that a current championship top 6 club wanted to buy TC in January for £4M. TC was keen to go but it was blocked by the club. Lord knows whether true or not 🤔 

I do think if you stuck TC in a squad like Coventry (playing to his strengths and with quality all around him) he'd be extremely effective in this division.

Hopefully next season we'll be a bit more fluid going forward and it will help his game as well. He's frustrating as anything but if we're to create anything from open play it comes through him or Carey 9 times out of 10. 
 

Putting TC in a better team won’t suddenly make him a better passer, shooter, crosser and stronger in the tackle, what will make him better is hard work and coaching, don’t see why that can’t be at Charlton. It could be argued that he will look even worse with better players and show he is not up to the levels needed, I’m playing devils advocate in saying that. He’s managed to be extremely effective (on occasions) for us this season but not often enough, it’s a bit remiss to say he’s not been good enough just because he’s at Charlton imo.

charltonbob

NabySarr said:

ShootersHillGuru said:

After this years relatively disappointing season for Birmingham, I can easily see them replace their manager and give the new man a war chest. Where does that leave Lyndon Dykes ? Probably won’t be in Brums plans and I’m thinking it’s likely he’ll move on. Definitely a player I’d like to see us sign but can we afford him ? Doubt there’s going to be a long queue at the top end of The Championship but I’d suspect that there will be a few clubs like us that might be interested. Even if we are able to get him in on a permanent or even another loan I would hope we’re looking for another striker as well. This seasons long lay off might have done Matty Godden some good but you still can’t forget his age and that injury. Leaburn, Kelman and Godden won’t be enough and I doubt it will even with Dykes. 

It’s been good enough to stay up this season so why wouldn’t it be good enough next season? And this season we’ve barely had Godden, and we’ve only had Dykes since January, and yet we are staying up pretty comfortably with Kelman, Leaburn and TC having been the main options for half of the season  

With both of Godden and Dykes more regularly available, plus Leaburn, Kelman and TC all improving in their second full seasons at this level, and then Mbick as a bit of a wildcard, I don’t see why that frontline can’t get us to mid table next season. 

I’m not 100% on keeping Godden, he needs to prove it over the next few games but Monday was a good start. If we do want to upgrade then he is probably the one that has to make way, unless we can’t keep Dykes 

Anyone see Mondays game ? He's the sort of striker we've been missing all season. Not sure on Kelmans future but doubt Campbell & Leaburn are ever going to be regular goal scorers. Not suggesting we get rid but at 22/23 there should be some sort of end product to their game but I'm struggling to see it.

charltonbob

NabySarr said:

MarcusH26 said:

Think even second season up you're going to need the nous and experience of Godden and Dykes. Invaluable to have around the squad and to bring on the likes of Leaburn and Mbick. 

Kanu new deal and L1 loan , Ahadme and Tanto sold , not convinced we'll hold onto TC (not because I don't rate him, but I think we'll get some offers) 

The creativity needs fixing more than the actual strikers themselves. 

This is the main thing for me. Other than TC are any of our strikers poor finishers? I don’t think so. If we create more chances they will score more goals 

Seriously ?

Ben18

Dykes was under contract until 2027 at Birmingham. He moved here on a 6 month contract, effectively losing a guaranteed year of wages. 

I suspect he has plans for next season and don’t believe he will sign another contract here. 

Maybe an overseas move following the World Cup.

cabbles

North Lower Neil said:

Ruffdiamond said:

Need another big turnover of players if we’re not going to struggle again next year especially in the midfield area  , the players we have are just not good enough.

Another reason I don't think we should be keeping Coady.

We need to improve that position, Coventry can be the backup/competition, we don't need both Coventry and Coady.

Agree.  Personally I think we need to focus on 5/6 high quality (or as a high as possible given our budget etc), rather than the volume we went for last summer.  

I think Mannion and Kaminski are okay at this level.  We could get better, but in terms of priorities, I don’t think the GK position is imperative.

We need a RWB, possibly a LWB depending on Edwards’ ability to return to fitness and get back to the level he was at prior to the injury.  

We absolutely need 2 midfielders if we keep the same formation next season, even 3 if we’re being hyper critical.  Carey is the one most likely to start next season and it may be he can offer more if we get 2 better players in than Doc and Coventry.  

If we retain Dykes, I’d argue we need a bit of pace and skill to compete with TC as someone to play off the forward.  If we don’t keep Dykes then we need to replace him with a player similar in stature.  

We’ve got a lot to do in the summer and personally, I see Apter and Tanto as finished here.  We’ll just have to manage their contracts and I expect both to be back out on loan next season, unless we can find a buyer and we’re not cutting our losses too much.  

The likes of Gillesphey, Berry, Burke, Anderson, will be moved on.  That leaves competition and squad players to be made up of Schenje, Docherty, Coventry, TC, Leaburn, Kelman, Knibbs, possibly Mbick if he comes back, Fullah although I expect he’ll be loaned out.  

I think we’re okay across the back three, just got to watch for injuries.  Light in the wing back positions.  Very exposed with the current midfield three, and light up top in terms of match winners and quality.  

Crispywood

NabySarr said:

MarcusH26 said:

Think even second season up you're going to need the nous and experience of Godden and Dykes. Invaluable to have around the squad and to bring on the likes of Leaburn and Mbick. 

Kanu new deal and L1 loan , Ahadme and Tanto sold , not convinced we'll hold onto TC (not because I don't rate him, but I think we'll get some offers) 

The creativity needs fixing more than the actual strikers themselves. 

This is the main thing for me. Other than TC are any of our strikers poor finishers? I don’t think so. If we create more chances they will score more goals 

Olaofe is honking in front of goal, Dykes and Leaburn aren’t atrocious but wouldn’t say they’re great finishers. Kelman is a great finisher but has no positional awareness to get chances. Mbick/Kanu unknown quantities, Godden self explanatory. 

I do think our strikers automatically become  better with a better midfield supplying them but they aren’t necessarily elite forwards who are only held back by what’s behind them 

Weegie Addick

Godden is better than Berry. Give him another year. 

Gisappointed

Macca no
Doc no
Berry no
Chambers no
Coventry no
Dykes no
Godden no 
Olaofe no
Apter no
Kaminsky no
Burke no
Dykes no
Taylor no
Mitchell A no

That is giving our home-grown talent a get out of jail card for a season but I'd take money for some of them, I doubt any of the above could command a fee despite £6m+ been spent and most on huge wages. 

I'm not convinced Championship journeymen are going to improve us, but there is plenty of talent out there. L2 cheap punts, Scotland and overseas, and loanees. 

And the above is a huge cull on our squad.

DDOUBLEE

Kaminski - Go
Ramsay - Keep (Starter)
Gillesphey - Go
Coventry - Keep (Squad Player)
Campbell - Keep (Squad Player)
Jones - Keep (Starter)
Berry - Go
Docherty - Keep (Squad Player)
Leaburn - Keep (Squad Player)
Carey - Keep (Squad Player)
Edwards - Keep (Starter, if he fitness can be proved)
Bell - Keep (Starter)
Z Mitchell - Loan
Brooks - Keep (Squad Player)
Kelman - Keep (Squad Player)
Godden - Go (He will be 35 by the time the season kicks off, I won't mind if he's still here but wouldn't want him to be a starter)
Mannion - Keep (Not opposed to him being No.1 at all)
JRC - Go
Sichenje - Keep
Burke - Go
Fullah - Keep (Squad Player)
Knibbs - Keep (Squad Player)
Dykes - Go (I'd keep him, but don't think he's staying personally)

Wouldn't expect anyone that's currently out on loan to be a major part of the squad next season, possibly Mbick if he's still here. I don't think we'll sign any of the loanees permanently, Harry Clarke is possible depending on if Ipswich are promoted.

stoneroses19

This thread already reminding me why I tend not to visit Charlton Life as much during summer. The amount of nonsense some people post about player recruitment is incredible. 

cantersaddick

I think we should be careful saying we don't want Dykes back. QPR fans in my wife's family have all spent much of this season saying they should have kept him as an option. Replacements are hard to come by at this level, not easy to guarantee a signing is an upgrade.

I'd offer Godders a 1 year contract if wages are okay. 

We are going to need to carry a bit bigger squad next year if we are to avoid the mid season slump and injury crisis. Experienced players around the place who can come in see us through tough spells is exactly what's needed.

Chris_from_Sidcup

DDOUBLEE said:

Kaminski - Go
Ramsay - Keep (Starter)
Gillesphey - Go
Coventry - Keep (Squad Player)
Campbell - Keep (Squad Player)
Jones - Keep (Starter)
Berry - Go
Docherty - Keep (Squad Player)
Leaburn - Keep (Squad Player)
Carey - Keep (Squad Player)
Edwards - Keep (Starter, if he fitness can be proved)
Bell - Keep (Starter)
Z Mitchell - Loan
Brooks - Keep (Squad Player)
Kelman - Keep (Squad Player)
Godden - Go (He will be 35 by the time the season kicks off, I won't mind if he's still here but wouldn't want him to be a starter)
Mannion - Keep (Not opposed to him being No.1 at all)
JRC - Go
Sichenje - Keep
Burke - Go
Fullah - Keep (Squad Player)
Knibbs - Keep (Squad Player)
Dykes - Go (I'd keep him, but don't think he's staying personally)

Wouldn't expect anyone that's currently out on loan to be a major part of the squad next season, possibly Mbick if he's still here. I don't think we'll sign any of the loanees permanently, Harry Clarke is possible depending on if Ipswich are promoted.

So according to this you expect only 4 of the current squad (5 if you count Mannion) to be starters next season? I'm not sure that's realistic at all.

ShootersHillGuru

All these people who think Kaminski shouldn’t be kept are deluding themselves. Even if it’s Mannion with the gloves, Kaminski is a very experienced and capable number two. Yes he’s on good wages but I really don’t see us either looking to or needing to worry about the keeper position.

Chunes

Ideally we'd have competition for places and not a first team and a bunch of squad players. That setup reminds me of a number of dreary years in L1. 

NabySarr

I think a lot of posters on here are massively overestimating 2 things 

1. the amount of overhaul the club will be able to do in one summer 

2. the amount of overhaul needed for us to keep progressing

If we finish 13th next season that would be good progress. That’s currently only 5 points better than we are now. We don’t need to completely overhaul the squad to achieve that. In fact, this squad would probably have achieved that already had Edwards not been injured for most of the season. Proper wing back options all season and upgrading the midfield is all that’s really needed to push us forward, anything else is a bonus 

thenewbie

I would be surprised if we see a massive turn around in the summer, I think a few judicious upgrades would honestly make a big difference rather than tearing everything up and starting from scratch.
A midfielder who can put their foot on the ball and pick a pass to complement Docherty's energy and/or Coventry tidying up behind and we could see service improve dramatically. Pair that with a striker in the mould of Dykes but maybe with a bit more skill on the ball and I think we'd start being much more of a threat up front.
Obviously the wing back situation needs addressing as we only have any depth until the end of the season. 

Evolution not revolution is probably going to be the name of the game.

shine166

Gisappointed said:

Macca no
Doc no
Berry no
Chambers no
Coventry no
Dykes no
Godden no 
Olaofe no
Apter no
Kaminsky no
Burke no
Dykes no
Taylor no
Mitchell A no

That is giving our home-grown talent a get out of jail card for a season but I'd take money for some of them, I doubt any of the above could command a fee despite £6m+ been spent and most on huge wages. 

I'm not convinced Championship journeymen are going to improve us, but there is plenty of talent out there. L2 cheap punts, Scotland and overseas, and loanees. 

And the above is a huge cull on our squad.

No more gambles from lower leagues please, we already have those failures from league 1. Also, our youth player returning from loan should be considered our league 2 gambles, we don't need any more. 

We need to be recruiting like we did in January, not like we did in the summer. 

cantersaddick

GK - Mannion, TK (or new if budget an right player becomes available)
RCB - Ramsay, Sichenje
CB - Jones, Burke
LCB - Bell, New
RWB - New, New (Would like Clarke back)
LWB - Edwards, New

CDM - New, Cov
CM - New, Doc, JRC
10 - Carey Knibbs

Wing- TC, Fullah

St- New (Dykes or similar), Leaburn, Mbick 
St- Kelman, Godden

Thats 7 incoming (8 if we want a keeper too) thats quite a bit of work to do. I think that would leave us reasonably stocked.

It's absolutely essential that we have 2 per position plus youth and a couple extras. We left ourselves short at the back this season and it caused our mid season slump. Having 3 players for 2 positions in Bell, Gilly and Edwards is asking for trouble. Same on the other side where we had Ramsay, Jones and Burke covering 2 roles. And was worsened when Jones stopped trusting Apter and Ramsay became backup at RWB too.

On Burke - aware he is injury prone and hasnt played as much as we would want this season but he is under contract and has quality so I think as 4th choice after Ramsay, Collins and Jones is fine. We would struggle to get anyone better or fitter to fill that role.
 
I havent included Gilly as I think we should aim to get a better (quicker) player to compete with Bell. But - if we are finding it hard to recruit that role and we are well stocked across the back particularly LWB then I wouldnt be against sticking with the devil you know for one more year. 

Fortune 82nd Minute

NabySarr said:

I think a lot of posters on here are massively overestimating 2 things 

1. the amount of overhaul the club will be able to do in one summer 

2. the amount of overhaul needed for us to keep progressing

If we finish 13th next season that would be good progress. That’s currently only 5 points better than we are now. We don’t need to completely overhaul the squad to achieve that. In fact, this squad would probably have achieved that already had Edwards not been injured for most of the season. Proper wing back options all season and upgrading the midfield is all that’s really needed to push us forward, anything else is a bonus 

I totally agree that all the posters who think we can move on practically half the squad this summer are going to be disappointed.

First of all, apart from the players who are out of contract, the players who are still under contract will have a huge say if they want to move on. Ahadme, for example. Why on earth would he willingly give up a lucrative contract that runs for another 2 (or is it 3) years?

Secondly, how are you going to get players to come who might not be first choice even if you can get players to agree to move? Gillesphey is a classic example. Most posters - and I exclude myself from this - want him to go. But left footed defenders are at a premium so how are you going to persuade a top quality one to come in and basically be an understudy to Bell? And also do that at a reasonable price. Keeping someone like Gillesphey in those circumstances is not a bad move.

No, reshaping the squad is going to be something that can't be done in one window and may well stretch over the next 2 years.

Crispywood

ShootersHillGuru said:

All these people who think Kaminski shouldn’t be kept are deluding themselves. Even if it’s Mannion with the gloves, Kaminski is a very experienced and capable number two. Yes he’s on good wages but I really don’t see us either looking to or needing to worry about the keeper position.

You can’t have a No.2 keeper being on 20k for where we are as a club a week you either have him as a No.1 or you sell him.

Rothko

People who want to burn the whole thing down and start again, and I mean this with full respect, are completely off their heads. 

MarcusH26

No need to burn it down. Would rather use the budget on 5-6 quality additions that massively improve us than burning it down and signing 13 players or something but the standard isn't as good. 

Rothko

we will look a ton better with a midfielder who can pass through the lines and a bit more pace/physicality in a couple of positions. The Strikers we have will look better if they weren't living off scraps from crosses for example 

NabySarr

Fortune 82nd Minute said:

NabySarr said:

I think a lot of posters on here are massively overestimating 2 things 

1. the amount of overhaul the club will be able to do in one summer 

2. the amount of overhaul needed for us to keep progressing

If we finish 13th next season that would be good progress. That’s currently only 5 points better than we are now. We don’t need to completely overhaul the squad to achieve that. In fact, this squad would probably have achieved that already had Edwards not been injured for most of the season. Proper wing back options all season and upgrading the midfield is all that’s really needed to push us forward, anything else is a bonus 

I totally agree that all the posters who think we can move on practically half the squad this summer are going to be disappointed.

First of all, apart from the players who are out of contract, the players who are still under contract will have a huge say if they want to move on. Ahadme, for example. Why on earth would he willingly give up a lucrative contract that runs for another 2 (or is it 3) years?

Secondly, how are you going to get players to come who might not be first choice even if you can get players to agree to move? Gillesphey is a classic example. Most posters - and I exclude myself from this - want him to go. But left footed defenders are at a premium so how are you going to persuade a top quality one to come in and basically be an understudy to Bell? And also do that at a reasonable price. Keeping someone like Gillesphey in those circumstances is not a bad move.

No, reshaping the squad is going to be something that can't be done in one window and may well stretch over the next 2 years.

And even then you won’t find a league 1 club that’s willing to pay Gillespheys wages. So you’d end up subsidising them if you want to get rid. I think Gillesphey will probably stay and be second choice again next season, he’s always available and with a proper wing back next to him has been fine this season. 

I don’t think LCB will be a priority position for us this summer. Probably one for summer 2027 

Crispywood

Rothko said:

People who want to burn the whole thing down and start again, and I mean this with full respect, are completely off their heads. 

Think it’s subjective what counts with tearing it all down and restarting. We can very easily have no Dykes, Godden, Berry, Coady, Clarke, Fevrier, Chambers, Taylor next year that’s already 8 players you can argue need replacing without lifting a finger then you look at players like TC and Ramsay you may have to move on from a contractual financial sense that’s 10 already and that’s not even taking into account players like Apter, Tanto, Kaminski or any of the youngsters who are not good enough for the championship but can very easily get L1/L2 loans without us having to do much work.

all of that before we start getting to the nitty gritty of Macca’s/JRC/Doc’s etc where we go well we could improve them but it’s not a massive concern if they are kept around 

WSS

MarcusH26 said:

No need to burn it down. Would rather use the budget on 5-6 quality additions that massively improve us than burning it down and signing 13 players or something but the standard isn't as good. 

Say the budget is the same again(ish) - that's £2m per player (not taking into account wages or potential free transfers). It's not going to improve us significantly I don't think.

I think we're better off spending £4m on three higher quality "starters" that have a level of certainty when it comes to quality.

Crispywood

NabySarr said:

Fortune 82nd Minute said:

NabySarr said:

I think a lot of posters on here are massively overestimating 2 things 

1. the amount of overhaul the club will be able to do in one summer 

2. the amount of overhaul needed for us to keep progressing

If we finish 13th next season that would be good progress. That’s currently only 5 points better than we are now. We don’t need to completely overhaul the squad to achieve that. In fact, this squad would probably have achieved that already had Edwards not been injured for most of the season. Proper wing back options all season and upgrading the midfield is all that’s really needed to push us forward, anything else is a bonus 

I totally agree that all the posters who think we can move on practically half the squad this summer are going to be disappointed.

First of all, apart from the players who are out of contract, the players who are still under contract will have a huge say if they want to move on. Ahadme, for example. Why on earth would he willingly give up a lucrative contract that runs for another 2 (or is it 3) years?

Secondly, how are you going to get players to come who might not be first choice even if you can get players to agree to move? Gillesphey is a classic example. Most posters - and I exclude myself from this - want him to go. But left footed defenders are at a premium so how are you going to persuade a top quality one to come in and basically be an understudy to Bell? And also do that at a reasonable price. Keeping someone like Gillesphey in those circumstances is not a bad move.

No, reshaping the squad is going to be something that can't be done in one window and may well stretch over the next 2 years.

And even then you won’t find a league 1 club that’s willing to pay Gillespheys wages. So you’d end up subsidising them if you want to get rid. I think Gillesphey will probably stay and be second choice again next season, he’s always available and with a proper wing back next to him has been fine this season. 

I don’t think LCB will be a priority position for us this summer. Probably one for summer 2027 

Bell and Macca aren’t getting any younger, Bell also relies a lot on his athleticism which may deteriorate with age and he may not be as injury free as he has been this year. It’s not the first position we need to address but it does need to be looked at if the right move comes up 

MarcusH26

WSS said:

MarcusH26 said:

No need to burn it down. Would rather use the budget on 5-6 quality additions that massively improve us than burning it down and signing 13 players or something but the standard isn't as good. 

Say the budget is the same again(ish) - that's £2m per player (not taking into account wages or potential free transfers). It's not going to improve us significantly I don't think.

I think we're better off spending £4m on three higher quality "starters" that have a level of certainty when it comes to quality.

I wouldn't be surprised to see £4m ish spent on a CM. 

golfaddick

stoneroses19 said:

This thread already reminding me why I tend not to visit Charlton Life as much during summer. The amount of nonsense some people post about player recruitment is incredible. 

I gave up when someone said we should look to get Max Dowman on loan from Arsenal 🤯

shine166

5 new starters, plus Mbick being fit would be great. Tbh Collins will feel like a new signing, he looked quality when playing against Wrexham and he'd barely been here 5 minutes. Decent pre season and I think he will be in the starting 11 every week.