Charlton Athletic director of recruitment Steve Gallen has admitted that the time it took to hire a new manager at the Valley has delayed the Addicks transfer business this summer.

However, with Ben Garner now in place as the League One club's manager, Charlton's summer recruitment can now commence.

Gallen says the delay was because managers at the club have the final say on transfers arriving at the Valley.

“It [the managerial appointment] was something I was waiting for, yeah." Gallen told CharltonTV, via South London Press.

“I am very impatient about things such as this – I want to get things done yesterday, in all honesty.

“I speak every year about trying to do things at the start, but on this occasion, it has meant that we couldn’t do too much. Obviously, the manager has the final say on what players come into the club, and rightly so.

It does sound, though, as if Gallen has been putting in the leg work on a number of transfers ahead of Garner's arrival.

The director of recruitment says with Garner now in place, the Addicks can press on with the moves they have been lining up.

“I have had so many players lined up, warm, and been talking to and had Zoom calls and meetings with myself." Gallen continued.

“Now that we have got Ben in, we can finally push that along. I have already had conversations with him about potential players, and he is really keen as well.

“Even today, we will be having quite a few discussions about where we are going to move to.

“We need a few in – we have lost a few players this summer. Hopefully, we can strengthen the team and do a lot better than we did last season.”

The Verdict

With their search for a manager lingering on, there were bound to be knock on effects for Charlton Athletic this summer and it appears one of them was a delay in their transfer business.

However, this should not be a major concern for Addicks fans.

By the sounds of it, Steve Gallen was working away in the background lining things up, ready to pick up when an appointment was finally made.

With Ben Garner now in place, Charlton will now accelerate their summer plans, so expect to see a few singings at The Valley in the coming weeks.