Charlton Athletic have moved to bolster their defensive ranks with the signing of Terell Thomas, who is returning to familiar surroundings having come through the academy at the Addicks.

The 26-year-old has put pen-to-paper on a one-year contract at The Valley after Ben Garner failed to strengthen his centre-back options before last Thursday's transfer deadline for loan and permanent signings from other clubs.

The free agents market opened though following September 1, and head coach Garner has moved quickly to secure the services of Thomas.

Thomas joined the Charlton youth setup in 2009 having departed Arsenal, but departed eight years later having not made a senior appearance for the club.

Most of Thomas' senior footballing experience has come at National League level initially with Woking, but also in League One with AFC Wimbledon, Wigan Athletic and Crewe Alexandra, but he joined Championship outfit Reading last March and made two appearances in the second tier before his summer release.

The Saint Lucia international will now compete with Eoghan O'Connell and Sam Lavelle for a spot in Garner's starting 11, with other defensive option Ryan Inniss not fully-fit.

The Verdict

Thomas was a necessary addition to the Charlton squad, but perhaps not the one that jumped off the page as the most talented when it came to who was out there on the free agents market for centre-backs.

The three current central defenders that Ben Garner has at his disposal are all pretty talented, but with such a condensed fixture schedule, just one injury would leave the Addicks very vulnerable.

That is why the addition of Thomas is a necessary one, although there's no guarantees that he'll get much game-time at all if Lavelle and O'Connell forge a strong partnership.

With plenty of League One experience under his belt though, Thomas could be a useful player to potentially call upon, even though on paper he may not be good enough to be starting for a team who are gunning for automatic promotion.