Charlton Athletic boss Lee Bowyer has revealed the Addicks cannot make any signings unless players leave the club, which has drawn a frustrated response from many Addicks fans.Â
Charlton have been under a transfer embargo since January due to the complications with East Street Investments' takeover, with the EFL not approving the deal.
Speaking to London News Online, Bowyer has revealed that as long as the embargo goes on the south London club will not be able to sign any players unless others.
It is understood that despite 12 players leaving this summer, the EFL are counting any player with a first-team appearance as a senior player and suggesting they already have a full 23-man squad.
Bowyer explained: "As it stands we canât bring anyone in â even if we had all the money in the world.
âWeâre not allowed to sign anyone unless we let players go.
âWeâre working behind the scenes to try and make some spaces available but itâs not easy. Iâm being told âjust be patientâ but itâs driving me mad. I canât even do my job properly at the moment.â
He added: "If we were to lose three players and had played U23s then they become first-team players. The EFL are already saying that with players who have played 15 minutes a year or two years ago when they came on as a sub. But it was because we had so many injuries that we had to play players who werenât ready. We had no choice â it was either that or play with nine men.
âThey [the EFL] are trying to say they are first-team players â but they are not.
âThatâs why we canât bring no-one in. We should be able to bring in at least three players because at the moment some of those players arenât part of the first-team squad in my eyes.
âBut the EFL are saying they are because one player played a game two years ago. Itâs pathetic.â
The Addicks are preparing for life in League One after they suffered a heartbreaking final-day relegation.
Previous reports have suggested that Charlton need to find a new owner before the season gets underway in September or they could face expulsion from the EFL.
Danish businessman Thomas Sandgaard has been very vocal about his intent to buy the club and is thought to be in talks over a deal.
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Unsurprisingly, this latest transfer update from Bowyer hasn't gone down well with the Valley faithful, many of whom have taken to Twitter to voice their thoughts.
Read their reaction here: