Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer has been impressed with the impact that his new signings have made in pre-season training.
Bowyer has brought in three new players this summer - striker Macauley Bonne from Leyton Orient, defender Tom Lockyer from Bristol Rovers and striker Chuks Aneke from MK Dons - and has also re-signed defender Ben Purrington from Rotherham United.
Bowyer is hoping to build a team that can compete in the Championship next season, having guided Charlton to promotion from League One in his first full season as a manager last term.
The Charlton squad are currently away on a pre-season training camp in Spain and the manager has been impressed with the impact that his new signings have made so far.
Bowyer admitted that he is only looking to bring in players who have the hunger and desire to improve, and he believes that this is reflected in his three new additions so far.
“Macauley Bonne, it’s tough for him because he came from non-league, from Leyton Orient. But he’s got potential, we’ve seen something that we can improve,” Bowyer told Charlton's official website.
“The lad can finish, so we just have to polish up on other parts of his game and try and develop him into an all-round striker.
“Tom Lockyer, he’s a Welsh international and he’s very good in possession for a centre-half. He’s a winner. At Bristol Rovers last season, he was very good and he puts his body on the line.
“Chuks, I think he’s going to bring us something that we haven’t got already.
“He’s definitely something we haven’t got and he’s a good, physical presence. Looking at his size, he surprises me how good his feet are, so yeah he’s definitely going to excite us.
“Again, he needs to improve in certain areas and we’ll work at that and he knows that.
“Whoever we bring in; they’re going to be winners and they’ll want to improve and impress in this division and that’s the type of person we want. So the three that we’ve brought, for me, are very good signings.”
The Charlton boss signed a one-year contract extension at The Valley earlier this summer, one day after the club announced that they had been unable to agree a new deal with him.
The Verdict
This is an encouraging sign for Charlton fans. Bowyer has been impressed with what he has seen from his new signings so far this summer and that can only be a good sign.
There's nothing wrong with signing players from lower down the football pyramid, as long as they have got the right drive and ambition to succeed at a higher level.
Perhaps Charlton's best piece of business this summer will be convincing Bowyer to sign a new deal, as he seems determined to take the club in the right direction.