Hoped for loans may not be available

Thomas Sandgaard has talked about using the loans market in January, but fewer loans than usual may be available.   

The chairman of a leading Premier League club told The Athletic this week that they are already considering putting a block on fringe players going out on loan in January.  Although bringing in loan signings takes away the worry about making a longer-term financial commitment, everything points to there being a small pool of players to choose from because of the impact of COVID-19 on top of injuries, and how concerned managers are about squad depth.

Preventing fringe players from going out on loan next month is far easier than recalling loanees, even if it runs the risk of upsetting some, either by reneging on verbal agreements that were made earlier in the season with youngsters, or by denying frustrated first-team players the regular football they crave.

Premier League loans may not be that relevant for Charlton.  Realistically, it is Championship clubs who stand to miss out most from Premier League clubs being more protective over their players. That said, it could have a ripple effect further down the EFL, given that some Championship clubs will be reluctant to let under-23 players join League One and League Two clubs if they haven’t strengthened themselves.

Of course, Charlton will also want to loan some players out, ranging from first team fringe players to Academy hopefuls.   The context described above may help there.