Charlton Athletic £14m squad value v QPR, Millwall and Championship rivals post summer shopping spree

Charlton Athletic have enjoyed an impressive summer transfer window so far as the London outfit prepares for a return to the Championship following their League One play-off triumph last term.

Nathan Jones made it clear that he wanted business done early 12 months ago in order to give him ample time working with new arrivals in pre-season, and that looks to be the case once again this time around. The Welshman has overseen a shopping spree at former club Luton Town in recent weeks, with three former Hatters players arriving at The Valley.

The most head-turning of those coups is perhaps for goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, who was a standout as the team were relegated to the third tier last season. The 32-year-old was a regular in the Premier League under Rob Edwards during the 2023/24 campaign.

Charlton Athletic busy in summer transfer window

Full-back Amari’i Bell and centre-back Reece Burke have also arrived to strengthen defence. At the other end of the pitch, Tanto Olafoe has arrived from Stockport County with Sonny Carey coming in to add Championship experience to midfield.

Joe Rankin-Costello has also been snapped up from Blackburn Rovers with Blackpool winger Rob Apter now set to follow for £2 million according to Football Insider. Speaking after the pre-season win over Dartford, Jones said: “We need a bit more quality in terms of how we play and what we do, we need to add that. We’ve got a real good base with what we’ve brought in, we’ve got that strength and have added a bit more quality but we still want that real top end quality and that’s what we are striving to bring in.”

With a long time still left in the transfer window, the statistics on Transfermarkt show that the majority of Championship teams currently have a lower squad value than on May 15. That’s largely down to free agent departures and a lack of incomings as of yet.

Championship squad value change compared

However, given their busy start to the window, Charlton Athletic are one of just seven teams to go against that trend. Here’s how the Addicks rank against rivals for change in squad value since the end of last season.

1. Sheffield Wednesday - £13.13m, -58.2%
2. Ipswich Town - £153.72m, -35.3%
3. Blackburn Rovers - £31.28m, -31.9%
4. West Bromwich Albion - £49.56m, -28.1%
5. Middlesbrough FC - £69.30m, -28.0%
6. Leicester City - £178.50m, -23.2%
7. Queens Park Rangers - £34.54m, -21.6%
8. Sheffield United - £92.57m, -19.1%
9. Hull City - £47.54m, -17.6%
10. Preston North End - £29.09m, -17.4%
11. Southampton - £193.16m, -16.9%
12. Portsmouth - £18.02m, -15.9%
13. Millwall - £29.31m, -13.2%
14. Stoke City - £42.88m, -8.4%
15. Norwich City -£77.61m, -4.0%
16. Derby County - £23.28m, -4.4%
17. Watford - £39.10m, -2.6%
18. Swansea City - £38.17m, +1.8%
19. Coventry City - £85.17m, +14.6%
20. Oxford United - £21.49m, +20.2%
21. Bristol City - £52.36m, +33.2%
22. Wrexham AFC - £15.05m, +33.1%
23. Charlton Athletic - £13.79m, +72.6%
24. Birmingham City - £76.08m, +100.4%

QPR and Millwall confirm transfer signings

Elsewhere in London, QPR and Millwall have had quieter starts to the window than Charlton Athletic, but both clubs have announced new signings. At Loftus Road, it has been all about the change in manager with Julien Stephan replacing Marti Cifuentes, but Amadou Mbengue has arrived from Reading with Kwame Poku coming in from Peterborough United in an impressive coup.

Millwall have made the loan of Middlesbrough striker Josh Coburn permanent in an important piece of business given that was never a guarantee. Zak Sturge has arrived from Chelsea and Max Crocombe from Burton Albion as the Lions fight to keep hold of key players such as Mihailo Ivanovic and Japhet Tanganga.

In other news, Ex Charlton Athletic trio and 'fearless' former QPR winger among 40 free agents at pre-season camp.