Few people, even many of the club’s own fans, would have honestly predicted Charlton Athletic’s early-season success.

A summer which started turbulently, with Lee Bowyer nearly leaving the club due to issues over his contract, has finished with the Addicks sitting second in the Championship, unbeaten, with 14 points from six games.

Charlton were promoted through the League One play-offs last season and it was predicted by some at the start of the 2019/20 campaign that they would be fighting for survival rather than competing at the top.

Though it is still early days, their league position looks all the more impressive given their spending over the summer. According to Transfermark, the £203,000 they spent on Macauley Bonne was the only transfer fee they paid in the transfer window.

Through free transfers and loans, they still managed to add 14 players to the squad this summer, including a few signings who are looking particularly shrewd already like Jonathan Leko and Conor Gallagher.

However, keeping Bowyer at the Valley looks like the most important bit of business the Addicks have done this summer.

According to the Mirror, Huddersfield Town were interested in bringing the 42-year-old coach in as the replacement for Jan Siewert, who was the first managerial casualty of the season, and made him their number one target.

However, Bowyer has reportedly confirmed that he is staying at the club, in what could be the biggest moment of the summer for the South London club, only rivaled perhaps by the English coach extending his contract.

The former Charlton player, who also played for Newcastle United and Leeds United, took charge at the club as caretaker manager in March 2018 with the side ninth in League One.

He steered them to a sixth-place finish but was beaten in the play-off semi-final by Shrewsbury Town.

In his first full season in charge, he would go one step better, finishing third and beating Sunderland in the play-off final to clinch a return to the Championship.

Bowyer delivered that success all while there was significant uncertainty behind the scenes at the club due to Roland Duchatelet’s unsuccessful attempts to sell the club.

That uncertainty remains as Duchatelet is yet to sell but Bowyer has got through what seemed to be a difficult summer and has carried over their momentum from last season.

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Such has been the quality of the Addicks’ start to the season under the 42-year-old that the club’s aspirations will surely have changed from just surviving to something much higher than that.

Charlton’s performances have been brilliant so far, only three sides have conceded less than them and only top-of-the-league Swansea City have scored more, and given they dominated much of their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest they’re perhaps unlucky not to have more points.

Losing Bowyer at this point would’ve been a huge blow and could have destabilised the side completely.

With the uncertainty surrounding Duchalet’s ownership of the club and the lack of money he provided for transfers this summer, it is difficult to tell who would’ve come in to replace the manager.

By keeping the current boss in place, Charlton head into the international break with momentum high and perhaps allowing themselves to believe that if they can keep it up they may just be challenging at the top come the end of the season.