The future of Charlton Athletic is in somewhat unknown territory, with the ownership of the club the main topic of debate right now.

It looked as though ex-Sunderland part owner Charlie Methven was all set to take control of the Addicks along with his consortium, and the backroom additions of Andy Scott, Jim Rodwell and Ed Warrick in December were all signs of this as a period of exclusivity was entered.

Then the curve-ball of current custodian Thomas Sandgaard pulling the plug on the Methven deal emerged, with the Dane stating that certain terms of the deal were not adhered to, and the dust had barely settled on that breaking news before it was revealed that US-based businessman Marc Spiegel was now in talks for the club.

The situation leaves manager Dean Holden in a bit of a sticky position as he arrived to replace Ben Garner at the exact same time that the Methven-led team all were appointed behind the scenes as well - in the short-term though he remains in charge at The Valley and performances have certainly improved under his management.

The reality of Holden's situation though is that he is only under contract until the end of the season, and with the uncertainty over who will be owning the club, there is a chance that he may not be around to see the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

If that happens and Charlton need to look for a new gaffer, then perhaps they should look no further than a man who has experience of winning the League One title, and that is Leam Richardson.

The improvement in the short-term showed under Holden means that the Addicks would need someone of a similar ilk, and Richardson is very much alike to the current man in charge.

For much of his career, Holden has been an assistant to mainly Lee Johnson, whilst Richardson has often been the right-hand man of Paul Cook at various jobs.

However, like Holden did at Bristol City in 2020 following a brief stint with Oldham earlier in his career, Richardson took on the top job at Wigan in the same year after being an assistant, and under tough circumstances he saved the Latics from relegation to League Two in 2021.

He had to rebuild the squad completely for the 2021-22 season under the club's new Bahraini ownership, and he exceeded all expectations by leading the club back to the Championship in his first full season by winning the title.

Richardson was perhaps unfairly treated in his few months in the second tier - Wigan picked up 19 points from their first 13 matches which was a decent haul, but a run of six defeats in seven and just one point gained out of a possible 21 saw the 43-year-old sacked just 2 weeks after signing a new long-term contract at the DW Stadium.

For what he did at Wigan in such a short space of time, Richardson deserves a job either in the lower reaches of the Championship or the top end of League One, and Charlton could be the perfect platform for him.

However, Addicks fans first and foremost will be wanting Holden to stay in charge after seeing improvements in their team, although Holden himself has to consider his and his family's needs as they are based in the north of England.