Charlton Athletic

Charlton's winning start to the Championship came to an end against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday but they are still yet to lose as they visit Stoke City on Saturday (12:30 BST).

Stoke, meanwhile, enjoyed their first points in the midweek, picking up all three against Norwich City on Tuesday.

• Stoke have only lost one of their last 14 home league games against Charlton (W11 D2), winning seven of their last eight, including three in a row since a 1-2 defeat in February 1998.

• Charlton have won four of their last seven league games against Stoke (L3), as many as their previous 20 beforehand (D5 L11).

• Stoke have picked up just three points across their opening four league games this season (W1 L3) and have conceded nine goals – both their worst returns at this stage of a campaign since 2019-20 (1 point, 10GA).

• Charlton Athletic have 10 points from their four Championship games so far this season, their most at this stage of a second tier campaign since 1992-93 (12).

• Tyreece Campbell has scored three goals in four league games for Charlton this season, already as many as he netted in 45 appearances last season.

Image source, Getty Images

Charlton Athletic fan and journalist Louis Mendez believes new Addicks signing Junior Nkeng is "a really exciting prospect" for the side, but might not be able to make an immediate impact.

The 19-year-old has played 25 games for AFC Wimbledon in League One but the Championship will be unknown territory for the Spaniard.

"There's always a difference between being in League One and into the Championship, which Charlton found out with a few of the players last summer," Mendez told BBC Radio London.

"There was that deal for Jesurun Rak-Sakyi [that fell through] which I think would have added some real quality on that right-hand side on the pitch for Charlton, which I would say is probably the missing piece if there is one.

"But who knows? With Millenic Alli, who played brilliantly in the win against Preston, and Nkeng [who] sounds like [he] can play on both sides, maybe there is enough."

Listen to the full analysis below or on BBC Sounds here.

Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by Norwich City sporting director Ben Knapper in the latest episode of the 72+ podcast.

Knapper discusses how he spent deadline day in Stoke, juggling transfer business with a Championship matchday. He also reflects on the Canaries' start to their campaign and last season's decision to replace Liam Manning with current head coach Philippe Clement.

There's also a round up of the biggest deals from deadline day, first wins for West Ham and Leicester, and Charlton and Swansea's flying starts.

Plus, Bristol Rovers manager Steve Evans joins the panel to discuss his side's strong start to the season.

Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

BBC Radio London's Rob Green, Charlotte Richardson and Jamal Fyfield discuss the transfer business done by EFL clubs across the capital.

The show, which runs from 22:00-00:00 BST, will offer the latest updates and analysis for West Ham, Millwall, QPR, Charlton, Bromley, AFC Wimbledon, Leyton Orient and Barnet.

Listen to it here

Subscribe to Total Sport London on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Transfer deadline day is upon us and today is the final chance for your EFL club to finalise any business until January.

The transfer window closes at 23:00 BST, so we might have some late night scrambles to get deals over the line.

There has already been plenty of movement this summer and whether it's a busy or quiet day for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our EFL deadline day live text coverage throughout the day here

Get alerts and keep up to date with all the latest news, insight and fan views for your club

We asked for your thoughts after Charlton Athletic rose to the top of the Championship table following their win against Preston North End on Saturday.

Here are some of your comments:

Charlton fans

Harry: Charlton have a great fan base, a skilled and disciplined team and an outstanding manager. All they need is some money! A shrewd investor could see that there is a great deal of money to be made if the team return to the Premiership. Who is going to step forward?

Dave: Three wins out of three, not a bad start to the season. Charlton looked pretty comfortable, Nathan Jones made a wise substitution to take Carey off and bring Alli on. Leaburn was excellent and Grant deserved his goal. It won't last but it's good to see the Addicks top!

Graham: It wasn't pretty but we fought hard to get a deserved win. What a prospect Mwamba is, he looks like he has a great future in front of him. Injuries are a worry though.

Image source, Getty Images

Preston fans

Ryan: The stats don't lie, we were toothless again. Hecky has lost and gained players late in the day but those who are playing look devoid of ideas and more worrying, confidence. I think he has the Bristol game to demonstrate some plan, purpose and a goal threat. All missing thus far, and long before this season started too.

Gary: Unfortunately, Heckingbottom's time is up. Not only do we need another three or four new players, we could be also looking at a new manager if performances don't improve.

Harry: Worst manager Preston has ever had. He has to go now, or PNE's season is doomed. A new face surely won't be any worse.

Paul Sullivan
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It's been a rollercoaster week for Charlton Athletic.

The first metaphorical mountain-top climb was defeating the financial might of West Ham United. Most Addicks fans weren't expecting a triumph at the London Stadium.

We followed that with the announcement of a new four-year contract for TC – Tyreece Campbell. In many ways, even more important than any summer signing.

Riding high in the Championship after two wins, Charlton fans headed to the all-singing, all-dancing Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the Carabao Cup.

My first reaction? It looked as though a giant spaceship had landed on Tottenham High Road. A real thrill to visit.

Then, as so often in life, things began to unravel.

We learned of an innocuous injury to defender Reece Burke, who was due to feature among the 11 changes manager Nathan Jones had planned. First-choice Billy Koumetio was drafted in, only to be injured alongside another central defender on the night, Collins Sichenje, who will now be out for some considerable time.

We were beginning to feel demoralised, compounded by the thrashing we received in north London. At least Lloyd Jones continued his prolific scoring form.

Then came another hammer blow: the breakdown of the Jesurun Rak-Sakyi deal, which would have fulfilled our aspirations on the right.

But after going from good to bad, we secured Kayne Ramsay on a four-year contract. And along with Jones and Campbell, that gives us three key players locked in for the foreseeable future.

It was also helpful, with no disrespect intended, to offload high-earning goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski on loan to Omonia Nicosia for the season.

To round off the week, we climbed our second mountain – to the summit of the Championship table – with a well-deserved 1-0 win against bogey side Preston North End.

Get in there!

And it gets better. Following our midweek rearguard injuries, we've now signed centre-back Tyler Bindon on loan from Nottingham Forest – a player I really rate.

Possibly more ins and outs by 23:00 on Tuesday.

Life is never dull in SE7!

Don't forget to tap the 'follow' button at the top of this page to stay up to date with the latest Charlton news.

Boss Nathan Jones believes Charlton's fine start to the season is a reflection of their determination to improve.

The Addicks were tipped by many to struggle in the Championship this term.

However, having beaten Derby and West Ham, they won 1-0 at home to Preston to make it three victories out of three - and are top of the table.

"It's not so much about being top of the league, it's that we've got nine points from three games, and that's a big thing," Jones told BBC Radio London.

"And it's the manner of it too - we went to West Ham, a Premier League side, and had to defend really well, but in the other two games, both at home, we were well worth the wins.

"We said we wanted to evolve, to have different threats, to be able to score. I don't want us to stagnate, stay still, or just contain teams.

"I want us to go after teams, to be more of a threat individually and technically. The recruitment reflects that."

Charlton Athletic want to improve on last season's Championship performance but do it sustainably with some potential new investment, managing director Jim Rodwell has said.

The Addicks finished 19th on their return to the second tier last season and are unbeaten after two league games of the 2026-27 campaign.

Rodwell told BBC Radio London: "We need to take steps to move forward - nobody is under any illusions it'll be any easier than last season but every season you have to look to improve and grow, until eventually you can get up closer to those play-offs and who knows where it can go from there?"

Charlton's budget was in the bottom quarter of the division last season, according to Rodwell, and any potential new investment would be welcomed at The Valley.

"Everybody knows Championship football clubs lose a lot of money - this is a seriously expensive business to operate and that's not about Charlton Athletic, that's the marketplace," he said.

"Our revenues need to be higher - we have to work harder and be more creative about that.

"Everybody is looking for investment and looking for people to help shoulder the burden - this isn't some sort of fire sale or desperation measure from our owners, it's just what does it look like, is there someone out there who wants to shoulder some of the burden with us and take us on to the next level?"

Charlton are at home to Preston North End on Saturday (15:00 BST).

• Listen to more Charlton Athletic interviews and content on BBC Sounds