Charlton Athletic

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Charlton and Derby get their new Championship season under way with a meeting at The Valley on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Addicks, who began the campaign with an EFL Cup win at Cheltenham last weekend, are unbeaten in seven seasons on the opening day, winning five of those games, most recently 1-0 at home to Watford last year.

The Rams exited the EFL Cup at home to Lincoln and have seen a proposed takeover fall through in recent days while their 3-1 defeat at Stoke last season was their third straight defeat on the opening day.

• Charlton Athletic have lost their past two home league games against Derby, only losing more consecutively between December 1946 and May 1951 (5).

• Derby County have lost just one of their previous five league meetings with Charlton Athletic (W3 D1); a 2-1 defeat in February 2024.

• Charlton lost five of their final eight league games last season (W1 D2), while only Sheffield Wednesday (12.7%) spent a lower proportion of their games in a winning position than the Addicks (16.5%) in the Championship last term.

• Derby lost six of their final eight away games last season (W2), though did win their most recent match at QPR in April (3-2).

• Carlton Morris' 12 league goals for Derby last season was his second-most in a single campaign in the top four tiers, behind his 20 for Luton Town in 2022-23; five of his goals in 2025-26 came from corners, more than anybody else.

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones says the club's summer recruitment has given him more competition for places.

The Addicks have made seven signings in the close season across defensive, midfield and attacking areas.

"We've recruited significantly in certain areas," Jones told BBC Radio London.

"Our left side, for example, got depleted last year and we never recovered from it, so we made sure we rectified that.

"In attacking areas, we feel now we've got real competition. We've got more pace, more power [and] more fluidity.

"We feel we're better equipped to maintain any runs that we have and to fend off any bad runs.

"[Last season] when we picked up injuries to key players, we didn't have the squad to cope with it. This year, we have."

Jones also said the club were looking to add another wide attacker before the end of the transfer window.

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Paul Sullivan
Fan writer

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After a discombobulating week of anxiety over club sale speculation and frustration at the lack of midfield reinforcements, it was a relief to experience competitive football again.

That frustration eased when Nathaniel Chalobah signed a one-year deal with the Addicks. Now with the further midfield loan signing of Timothy Ouma from Slavia Prague, it gives supporters even more reason to feel optimistic about the club's options in that area.

Chalobah made an immediate impression in Charlton's Carabao Cup first-round tie at Cheltenham Town.

Charlton looked resplendent in their fetching purple third kit and, on paper, possessed too much quality for the League Two side. Apart from spells at the beginning of each half, that proved to be the case as three fine goals secured a deserved victory.

The Addicks showed real class in turning defence into attack, combining pace, power and control. Chalobah provided the composure and experience expected of him, while Sonny Carey contributed a goal and an assist.

Midfield was widely regarded as one of our weaker areas last season, so seeing Chalobah, Carey and indeed Conor Coventry influence the game so quickly was particularly encouraging.

With Ouma now added to the squad, competition and depth in the centre of the pitch appears considerably healthier now.

Forward play has also been a concern, but goals for Tyreece Campbell and Matty Godden should provide both players with a valuable confidence boost as the new campaign begins.

I was delighted with the result, especially after the disappointment of last season's early cup exit at Cambridge United, when Charlton were beaten by lower-league opposition with a weakened side.

Some may argue that this match did not matter, but given the disjointed pre-season and the continued rumblings around the club's ownership, this victory was the perfect tonic before Saturday's league opener against Derby County at The Valley.

And of course, we have been rewarded with a plum EFL Cup tie at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in the second round.

Charlton put the game against Cheltenham beyond doubt with a three-goal burst in just 16 minutes, helped by winning the ball back and attacking quickly in transition.

The one negative was Will Mannion's poor goalkeeping for Cheltenham's goal.

Goalkeeping coach Stephen Henderson has work to do to restore confidence in Mannion and Thomas Kaminski, with consistency between the posts essential this season.

So with manager Nathan Jones revealing he still wants to bring in someone to challenge Rob Apter on the right side and still the possibility we will see departures, we nevertheless feel we are in a better place now to take on the rigours of a second Championship season.

The Valley should be rocking on Saturday.

Buckle in and get ready for the ride.

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Bristol Rovers have signed Charlton's Keenan Gough and Tottenham midfielder Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny on season-long loan deals.

Steve Evans has overhauled his squad summer as he prepares for a first full season in charge of the Gas but did lose Josh McEachran earlier this week.

Russell-Denny is an England Under-19 international while Gough, 20, has made three league appearances for Charlton.

Evans told BBC Radio Bristol: "Reiss is an exceptionally gifted boy. He trained with us, and some of the things he did with manipulating the ball and moving it around were special.

"I've just got to make a judgement call. If we had him in four or five days earlier, he would certainly be in a Bristol Rovers shirt to play Peterborough, so he's a gifted boy that we're fortunate that Tottenham have placed his care in our hands."

Rovers start their season with a Carabao Cup tie against Peterborough - one of Evans' former clubs - on Saturday.

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Charlton Athletic fan and BBC London reporter Louis Mendez says supporters "can't believe" there has been "more talk about takeovers" this week.

The south london club has had five owners in the past six years, with a group of United States-based investors called Global Football Partners (GFP) taking over in 2023.

Addicks chairman Gavin Carter has played down a report in the Guardian, external newspaper that the club is up for sale after just three years.

Carter responded on the club website, external, saying the "club ownership group is seeking new investment to help us progress...with our five-year plan.

"This is similar to the route taken by clubs like Ipswich, Wrexham and Bolton, and is not new news for Charlton".

Mendez, host of the Charlton Live podcast, said: "A lot of fans can't believe they are going through this again.

"They've been through so many takeovers over the past few years, any time anything like this gets mentioned there are a lot of nervous Charlton fans.

"I quite simply have had enough of talking about Charlton owners, to be fair.

"Every club is for sale in some way, isn't it? And if you are out there looking for investment, someone comes in offering you a lot of money whereby they can take over the club, that's a sale isn't it?

"I think all options are on the table".

Listen to Louis Mendez discuss the story with BBC London's Emma Jones via BBC Sounds:

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Reading have been forced to move their final pre-season friendly against Charlton Athletic to The Valley because of concerns over the condition of the club's newly- laid pitch.

The hot, dry weather has affected the growth of the grass at the Select Car Leasing Stadium and with the playing surface unfit, Saturday's match will now be played behind closed doors at Charlton's home ground instead.

"This is not a decision anyone at the club wanted to make, but it is the right one," Reading co-chief executive Joe Jacobson told the club wesbite., external

"We've invested significantly in providing the team with the best possible playing surface for the season ahead.

"Unfortunately, the recent spell of hot and dry weather has slowed the development of the new pitch and, after taking expert advice, we've concluded that protecting it now gives us the best chance of having it in the condition we all want for the start of the League One campaign.

Reading open their League One campaign at home to Luton Town on 15 August.

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Charlton striker Kaheim Dixon has joined Serbian SuperLiga club Novi Pazar for an undisclosed fee after two seasons with the Championship outfit.

Having initially joined from Jamaica Premier League side Arnett Gardens in 2024, the 21-year-old struggled to get a foothold in the first team, making just five appearances.

Jamaica international Dixon went on loan to Crawley Town for the first half of last season, scoring one goal in 16 appearances across all competitions.

Manager Nathan Jones told the club website, external: "Kaheim's game time has been limited in the first team and he's had a loan, but we felt the best thing for his career was for him to go and find somewhere where he can play regularly."

Paul Sullivan
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

I was absolutely delighted that we achieved our aim of surviving our first season back in the Championship since being relegated to League One in 2019-20.

Now we go again and I will not pretend otherwise, I am nervous.

Across the past 10 seasons, 14 of the 33 clubs promoted from League One have been relegated back to the third tier either immediately or within two Championship campaigns.

That means more than one in three have gone back down within two years, which is the warning for every club making the step up - promotion is one challenge, consolidation is another.

The split is exactly even between those who went straight back down and those who suffered "second season syndrome".

Wigan and Rotherham have each gone up three times in the past 10 years, while Charlton and Bolton have done it twice - a reminder that for some clubs, the challenge is not just getting promoted, but staying up and building on it.

When you look at the clubs that have come up from League One, a pattern begins to emerge. The bigger clubs have generally been better placed to stabilise, while medium sized clubs like Charlton have had to be far more careful. Smaller clubs, by contrast, often need everything to go right simply to stay standing.

My hope is that we can build on last season, push towards 60 points or more and keep Nathan Jones' upward trajectory going.

Time will tell.

Charlton Athletic have entered the race to sign English Hull City winger Abu Kamara, 22, who has been the subject of interest from Portsmouth since the start of the summer transfer window. (Hull Daily Mail), external

Free agent Nathan Redmond is currently training with Charlton Athletic but the 32-year-old English winger is not close to a deal with the Addicks. (Sky Sports), external

Want to read more transfer rumours? Check out Friday's full gossip column here.

Emily Herbert
BBC Sport London and South East

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Charlton boss Nathan Jones says the club are taking a patient approach in the transfer market.

"We're in a decent place. This is a patient window. We have the nucleus of a really good squad, but what we need to add is a bit more flair, a bit more quality and zest in one-v-one areas and at the top end of the squad.

"That takes a bit more time to get in, but we're confident that when the Championship starts we'll have everyone that we plan to sign."

Jones also played down the prospect of adding another striker immediately.

"Lyndon [Dykes] is someone we've had, and we like. At the minute we have six strikers, so something will need to change there if we're going to bring in another one," he told BBC Radio London.

"We are on top of all contacts. We are not pressured by anything or anyone."