The consortium that have submitted a takeover bid for Charlton Athletic, Corporate Football Organisation Portugal, have hinted that they're planning to build around the academy for long-term success rather than spend big in the upcoming window.
Over the past few weeks, a number of different parties have been linked with a potential takeover of the Addicks – with current owners, East Street Investments, understood to be looking to sell the club.
CFO Portugal revealed earlier this month that they had submitted a bid for Charlton and that they had a five-year plan to get the club back to the Premier League.
Should the takeover be completed before the end of the season, all eyes will be on how the new owners approach the upcoming transfer window.
Speaking to Portuguese outlet A Bola (via Sport Witness), CFO Portugal's representative Fernando Corte-Real hinted that they may not be looking to spend big.
He said: "Our logic is to build from the bottom up, and Charlton have a strong academy, which, we believe, can be a smart way to balance the team and reduce the need for investment. The idea isn’t to arrive and win soon. We want to build something realistically."
Charlton are facing a relegation battle at the moment and current sit 22nd in the Championship – two points and one place away from safety with nine games remaining.
How the Addicks finish the 2019/20 campaign will undoubtedly have a major impact on the upcoming window, something that Corte-Real did not dispute.
He said: "It wouldn’t be irrelevant, as it would have financial consequences. We believe that Charlton will stay up, but if they don’t, we’ll have a different approach, with a deeper restructuring.”
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The Verdict
This is an interesting update from CFO Portugal. In previous interviews, they have discussed the Wolves model but it appears they're looking to build right from the bottom at Charlton.
That may mean there isn't a huge amount of spending in the upcoming window but it should set the club up well for future success.
There is a long way to go before Charlton fans can get excited about that, however, and you'd imagine they will remain cautious for the time being, given the off-field issues they've seen at the club over the past few years.