After last night's injuries, Charlton were dealt a heavy blow with the news that the deal to sign Jesurrun Rak-Sakyi is off. He was at Sparrows Lane earlier in the week, but the deal has been pulled because of an ongoing dispute about agent representation.
Charlton hope to sign another right winger before the deadline, but he is unlikely to be of the same calibre. Meanwhile, the gaps at centre back need to be filled.
Two goals in four minutes towards the end of the first half put Roberto de Zerbi's side in control against their Championship opponents at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs had though struggled to make an impact against a
much-changed Charlton side before Mikey Moore broke the deadlock in the
41st-minute.
Moore struck from the edge of the box with a rasping drive
into the top corner, the 19-year-old's first goal in a Spurs shirt since
January 2025. England forward Dominic
Solanke added the second with a right-foot finish in the 45th minute after
turning inside the box.
De Zerbi made five changes to the side that lost at the
weekend with Portugal midfielder Mateus Fernandes making his first start since
completing an £85m move from West Ham.
Substitute Kevin Danso made it 3-0 when he headed Fernandes'
free-kick home from 15 yards in the 67th-minute, but the Austria defender had
to go off for treatment after being hurt while scoring.
The Addicks, who were cheered on by 6,000 travelling fans,
made 10 changes to the side that started the win at West Ham last
weekend. They were forced into two
early changes because of injuries to defenders Collins Sichenje and Billy
Koumetio, but had the two best chances before Moore put Spurs ahead.
Sichenje damaged his left knee early doors. Initially he
carried on after requiring treatment but did not last long. Koumetio,
impressive since his transfer from Dundee this summer, had a hamstring issue.
They were replaced by Lloyd Jones and Danny McNamara. It looks as if the injuries will be weeks rather than days.
After skipper Greg Docherty forced Antonin Kinsky into a
decent save, Nathan Asiimwe had a header that dropped narrowly wide.
They did give the travelling fans something to cheer about
when Lloyd Jones scored an 87th-minute consolation.
Shell shocked supremo Nathan Jones told Richard Cawley: “It is a pretty disastrous night for us,” said Addicks boss Jones. “Not the result, or going out of the cup, but the injuries we picked up. To lose three centre-halves, we lost Reece Burke the other day, that is the difficult thing.
“When you come up against Premier League sides now they are
difficult animals, physically strong and how they play. It is very difficult to
create an upset. What we have to do is concentrate on the Championship - but
that’s really caused us an issue now."
AI avatar Desmond from Deal commented: 'As I forecast, Jones has been found out and given a thumping, plus injuries to key players. At least he had the honesty to admit his mistakes, but there was no follow up in terms of a resignation letter on the chairman's desk.'
The soccer ball coverage by the New York Times is suddenly taking an interest in Charlton.
They report: Crystal Palace forward Jesurun Rak-Sakyi is close to joining Charlton Athletic. A deal worth in excess of £4 million for the 23-year-old to return to the Valley is expected to be completed.
Rak-Sakyi spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Charlton
during their League One campaign, winning their player of the year award after
scoring 15 times in 49 appearances across all competitions.
He was then kept at Palace the following season playing just
eight times, being denied the opportunity for a temporary move away, before
playing 36 times for Sheffield United in the Championship in 2024-25, scoring
seven times.
Last summer The Athletic reported that
Scottish side Rangers had made an offer to loan Rak-Sakyi with a potential
obligation buy worth up to £10m rejected by Palace, who sought a fee closer to
the £20m Ipswich Town paid Chelsea for Omari Hutchinson.
He eventually was loaned to Caykur Rizespor in Turkey last
season where he played 13 times and scored four goals before moving to Stoke
City in January and playing a further 16 games.
Rak-Sakyi, who has been capped by England at Under-20 and
Under-21 level, has failed to make an impression sufficient to force his way
into the Palace squad and he was not in Palace’s plans this season with a year
remaining on a five-year contract he signed in 2022.'
£5m had been quoted as a price, so clearly a better deal has been secured. It will be difficult for moaners to complain that the owners have stinted the manager in this transfer window.
One of my favourite trips to the old White Hart Lane was when we won 1-0, Spurs fan Chris Powell scoring the goal.
My stepdaughter has undertaken some of the design work for the new stadium. Although she is more used to working on venues such as airports, she says she has never seen such a high standard of finish.
Building the new stadium, surely the finest in the country, distracted the club from the pitch leading to Spurs only just avoiding relegation last year. Much the same happened at Arsenal with the move to the Emirates.
Now a change in leadership has seen more investment in the team. However, it doesn't seem to have paid off at Brentford on Saturday, although there are still signings to come.
The Sunday Times reported: 'Spurs looked worryingly reminiscent of that side that buckled under the first sign of pressure last season. Brentford pulverised Tottenham from start to finish. De Zerbi was a little ball of frustration on the side.'
His watchword is 'Il campo parla', the pitch speaks. Haringey's finest will want to show what they can do on Wednesday. Charlton could well get thumped, but the more important match is against Preston North End on Saturday.
A defeat will give the pessimists and negativists their first chance this season, but the result will be no reflection of the calibre of the management or the team.
Tyreece Campbell has signed a new four year contract with the club.
Richard Cawley reports, ‘we know it is a familiar tale that top academy products are lured away before they sign professional terms. Chetam Ezenwata is the latest one.
The 16-year-old defender, touted for a big future in the
game, announced on his social media that he has joined Brighton. The Seagulls
also landed goalkeeper James Beadle from the Addicks in January 2022.
Ezenwata won the 2026 Steve Clarke Trophy at Charlton, which
recognises outstanding progress at U16 level.
“After five unforgettable years with this great club, it’s
now time for me to open the next chapter of my story,” said the teenager on his
Instagram. “To all my coaches, the staff, my amazing team-mates - with whom I
have formed some unbreakable bonds over the years - and all the parents and
fans that cheered us on through every win and loss, I say thank you all
immensely for being a part of my journey.”’
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Keith Jones scored the winning goal in a 1-0 win at The Valley over Liverpool. Luke 'Warm' Young found the net in a 2-0 win.
When Charlton were in the Premier League and we beat, for example, Liverpool all the resultant media coverage was on the lines of 'what has gone wrong at Liverpool?'
I predicted the same would happen with Saturday's victory against Wet Spam and so it has. For example, The Times has a page feature on the club's woes.
Rather unusually The New York Times had a match report on a Championship game that did not involve Wrexham, but you would have had difficulty working out that Charlton were on the pitch.
However, there was one interesting paragraph: 'Tyreece Campbell initiated most of Charlton’s attack down the left flank. The winger subjected full-back Kyle Walker-Peters to a tough afternoon with his pace and unpredictability in possession. His performance was a reminder that West Ham do not have a player that offers a similar threat.'
Yet the armchair managers were telling us last year that he was useless and he was a scapegoat player for many fans. Their response is that he has undergone a metamorphosis.
AI avatar Desmond from Deal imploded after Saturday's game, but is now forecasting that Charlton will get their just deserts at Spurs. No doubt they will want to offset their dubbing by mighty Brentford.
Unconfirmed reports are appearing on social media that Charlton have agreed to sign Jesurun Rak-Sakyi from Crystal Palace for £5. There is no authoritative confirmation of these reports.
What is wrong with Wesr Ham?' will be the media story tomorrow, but Charlton fans will be celebrating an unexpected 2-1 win at the London Stadkum.
It was a case of deja vu when Charlton's goals were scored first by captain Lloyd Jones on seven minutes and then by Tyreece Campbell.
An underwhelming home side pulled one back on 74 minutes. They then had a chance to equalise when Conor Coventry hand balled in the box, but hit the post from the penalty spot.
Charlton are 2nd in the table behind the Spanners on goal difference.
I featured Charlton fan and author Charlie Connelley yesterday and today is his 56th birthday.
Lloyd Jones opened the
scoring with an early overhead kick after the hosts allowed Sonny Carey's long
throw-in to bounce inside their penalty area.
Seven days after securing Charlton's win over the Rams, man of the matchTyreece Campbell was in clinical form again to dispossess the dithering
Konstantinos Mavropanos, enter the box and curl in shortly after the break to
double the lead in front of a sell-out crowd of 62,500, including more than
3,000 gleeful Addickted.
West Ham’s coach Nuno Espirito Santo was unimpressed to see Miles Leaburn gifted the ball for a run that ended with the forward sending a fierce shot wide, summing up a first half in which Charlton proved considerably more dangerous than their opponents in the first league edition of this fixture since 2007.
Despite their lack of cutting edge, West Ham could have
levelled seconds before the interval when Castellanos had a glorious chance to
take his tally to four goals in his past five home league games, only to plant
a header straight at Arthur Okonkwo when Ollie Scarles' curling cross found the
forward unmarked in front of goal.
Nuno sent on Lewis Orford for Mohamadou Kante in midfield
for the second half, which his side began by applying ample pressure before
more sloppiness afforded Campbell a chance the Jamaica international took to
double Charlton's lead.
Making his Charlton bow, Okonkwo brilliantly tipped Divine
Mukasa's drive away as part of an inspired display against an attack featuring
new West Ham signing Arne Engels, as well as home debutant Manor Solomon.
Piroe, having seen a goal ruled out after the ball had gone
out of play before his finish, pulled one back to give the hosts hope.
The lively Jarrod Bowen created further opportunities and
Castellanos skimmed a header narrowly wide as Nuno's players pushed to
replicate Burnley's comeback against them at Turf Moor.
Castellanos looked poised to complete the comeback in
last-gasp fashion, but his miss ensured the celebrations and relief belonged to
Charlton after a gritty, incisive display that ensured they joined Millwall as
the only teams to have won both of their first two Championship matches.
