Charlton Athletic are facing a massive last few months of the campaign as they aim to get their season back on track and force their way into the play-off positions if they can.

Lee Bowyer’s side have had a difficult period of form in their season, but they secured a much-needed home win against Northampton Town in mid-week to boost their chances of keeping in touch with the teams above them in the table. It is a win that needs to be the catalyst for them to build on now for the coming weeks and months.

It was always going to a tough job for the Addicks to bounce back to the Championship after the way in which they were relegated last term. However, their fans might have expected them to have been a little more consistent in terms of results and performances than they have been at times.

The club are having to recruit smartly and will also need to rely on their academy in order to get themselves back into the English second tier in the next few years should they not go up this term. The Club have always been able to produce some quality players from their youth teams in the past.

Here, we take a look at and rank the top ten best players to come through the system at the Valley. Click ‘next’ to look through the list…

Starting off this list of Charlton’s best ever academy graduates is defender Ezri Konsa. However, there is no doubt that in a few years' time he will qualify for an even higher place on this list based on his current progression.

Konsa started his career at the Valley and the defender managed to make his first-team debut for the Addicks in August 2016 starting in a defeat against Cheltenham Town in the League Cup. He was a regular in the side that season and showed his versatility playing in midfield and at full-back and earning the club’s Young Player of the Year award. The following year he remained a regular making 47 appearances.

In the summer of 2018 Brentford swooped for the talented defender and he made an instant impression for the Bees making 42 Championship appearances as they finished in 11^th place in the table. Aston Villa were impressed and they made the move to sign him in the summer of 2019 after their promotion to the Premier League.

Konsa has since been a key player for Villa in the top-flight making 25 appearances last term as they survived on the last day of the campaign. So far this term he has made 24 league appearances and he has shown real quality throughout those matches.

Ninth on this list is former Charlton forward Karlan Grant, who has gone on to prove himself to be a quality player capable of performing in the Premier League when at his best.

Grant made his first-team bow with the Addicks back in 2014 coming off the bench against Norwich City. The 23-year-old made six appearances in the 2014/15 campaign in all competitions, before making it into the side on a more regular basis and scoring three times in 20 games as the club were relegated to League One in 2015/16.

The following two seasons saw Grant struggle for consistent form in front of goal, but in the 2018/19 campaign, he burst into life scoring 14 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions for the Addicks before Huddersfield Town made a move to sign him in the January window. There was little he could to stop the Terriers from being relegated from the Premier League but he did score four in 13 games.

Last season saw Grant show he was amongst the best forwards in the Championship with him firing in 19 league goals in a struggling Huddersfield side. That prompted West Brom to make a move for him last summer and take him back to the Premier League.

Seventh on this list is Newcastle United and Charlton legend Rob Lee, with the midfielder having enjoyed lengthy and successful spells with both clubs throughout his career that saw him make over 800 appearances in total.

Lee started his career with the Addicks after getting his debut for the club during the 1983/84 campaign. In his third season in the first-team, he helped the club win promotion to the First Division in 1986 and was a crucial part of the said that established themselves at that level for the next four campaigns. However, relegation followed in 1990. Lee helped them earn promotion again though in 1992.

Eventually in 1992 Newcastle United made the move to bring Lee in, bringing a nine-year spell with the Addicks to an end in which he made 343 appearances and scored 65 goals. He enjoyed an equally successful spell with the Magpies spending ten years at St James’ Park and making 381 appearances for the club.

Spells at the likes of Derby County, West Ham and Oldham Athletic followed before he finished off his playing career with Wycombe Wanderers.

Coming in at number six in this list is former Liverpool and England forward Paul Walsh. The striker enjoyed a successful and lengthy playing career in which he achieved some notable success on the field and made 521 appearances.

Walsh came through Charlton’s academy and made his first-team bow in 1979. He would go on to score 31 goals in 100 appearances in all competitions for the Addicks during his time with the club. In his last season, he scored 13 goals in 38 league appearances in the Second Division.

A move to Luton Town would follow for the forward and he enjoyed a successful two-season spell with the Hatters scoring 29 goals in his 92 appearances. That was enough to earn him a move to Liverpool in 1984 and he would go on to achieve a lot of success with the Reds including winning the First Division title in 1985/86.

Walsh also won the 1991 FA Cup with Tottenham Hotspur after leaving Liverpool in 1987. Two spells with Portsmouth in between a spell with Manchester City rounded off his career.

Coming in at number eight on this list is former England defender Paul Konchesky who enjoyed a successful and lengthy playing career which saw him make 656 appearances across a host of different clubs.

Konchesky’s career began with the Addicks where he made his debut in the 1997/98 season and managed to play a part in the club earning promotion to the Premier League in 2000. In total he spent eight seasons with Charlton’s first-team, barring a short loan spell with Tottenham Hotspur during the 2003/04 campaign. He made 168 appearances for the club scoring eight goals.

The defender would move on to West Ham in the summer of 2005 and he enjoyed an impressive first campaign with the Hammers playing a crucial role in helping them consolidate in the top-flight and also reach the FA Cup final in which he scored against Liverpool. He would leave the club for Fulham in the summer of 2007.

He enjoyed a successful three seasons with Fulham helping them reach the Europa League final in 2010. That earned him a move to Liverpool where he reunited with Roy Hodgson. However, he lasted just one year at Anfield. Moves to the likes of Leicester City, QPR, Gillingham and Billericay Town followed before his retirement.

The fifth place in this list is forward Ademola Lookman who has managed to now start to show that he can be a very good player in the Premier League during his time at Fulham this season.

Lookman burst on to the scene with Charlton in 2015 scoring his first goal for the club against Brighton in November and then scoring twice in a win a draw against Bolton Wanderers a few days afterward. Overall the forward went on to make 49 appearances and score 12 goals for the Addicks before he eventually was signed by Everton in January 2017.

The forward’s debut could not have been more impressive for the Toffees with him scoring the fourth of a 4-0 win against Manchester City at Goodison Park. However, despite that excellent start things never really took off for him and he was loaned out to RB Leipzig during the 2017/18 campaign. The German side then signed him permanently in the summer of 2019.

After failing to score in 13 appearances last term for the German outfit he was signed by Fulham last summer on a season-long loan. He currently has four goals to his name in 25 Premier League appearances this season.

Coming in at number four on this list is Jonjo Shelvey. However, some might believe that he had the talent to have been potentially even higher on this list his career has gone a little smoother since leaving the Addicks.

Shelvey was a star in the making at Charlton and burst onto the scene is impressive fashion for the club at the age of just 16. He remains the club’s youngest ever player and also their youngest ever goal scorer. Overall during his time with the club, he managed to make 49 appearances for the Addicks in which he managed to score eight goals.

A move to Liverpool came about in the summer of 2010 and there was confidence that he would be a star in the making for the Premier League side. However, he was never able to fully convince at Anfield despite some promising performances at times. The midfielder eventually left for Swansea City in 2013 having made 69 appearances for Liverpool.

At Swansea, he showed his Premier League quality at times during his first two campaigns. Newcastle United then swooped for him in January 2016 as they tried to survive in the Premier League. They were relegated by Shelvey helped them earn promotion in 2017 and has been a regular in the side in the top-flight since their return.

It is not often you would find the manager of a football club appearing on a list of that club’s best ever academy players. However, that is the case for Lee Bowyer who comes in at third on this list.

Bowyer is simply a legendary figure around the Valley and it is often forgotten just how impressive a football player he was especially since we now see him in the dugout week in week out rather than on the field. The midfielder started his career with the Addicks and his talent became apparent for all to see in the 1995/96 campaign where he scored 14 goals in 52 appearances.

That saw him earn a move to Leeds United in 1996 for a fee that at the time was a record for a British teenager. He went on to spend seven seasons at Elland Road in which time he made 265 appearances and scored 55 goals. A move to West Ham would follow on a short-term basis before he signed for Newcastle United and spent three years at St James’ Park.

A return to West Ham was next and he spent a more successful two years with the Hammers between 2006 and 2008. He then moved to Birmingham City who he helped win the League Cup in 2011. A short spell at Ipswich Town followed before his retirement from playing. Since then he has as we all know taken over as manager of the Addicks leading them to promotion in 2018/19.

Coming in at number two on this list is former Charlton midfielder star Scott Parker, who was one of the Addicks most influential and impressive performers during the days where they were competing with the biggest clubs in the country in the Premier League and upsetting many of them at times.

Parker enjoyed a hugely impressive seven-year spell in the Addicks’ first-team squad and played an important part in the club earning promotion back to the Premier League in 1999/2000 making 15 league appearances that year. He was then a crucial player the following four seasons in the top-flight as he helped the club become a real force.

Chelsea made the decision to swoop for Parker in January 2004, but the midfielder was never able to fully establish himself at Stamford Bridge amongst the world-class midfield options they had available to them. A move to Newcastle United in 2005 got his career going again, but it was not until a move to West Ham that he reminded everyone just how good he could be.

During his time with the Hammers, he won the Football Writers’ Player of the Year award despite being in a side that was relegated in 2010/11. That earned him a move to Tottenham Hotspur where he spent two years before finishing his career with Fulham. He now manages the Cottages and led them to promotion to the top-flight last term.

Considering some of the excellent talents that Charlton have produced from their academy that is on this list, it shows just how much potential and quality Joe Gomez has for him to be handed the number one spot here.

There are few defenders in world football who at the age of just 23 have already picked up a Champions League and Premier League title. That is what Gomez has gone on to achieve at Liverpool after making the move from the Valley for what now looks like an insane bargain of £3 million back in the summer of 2015.

The defender’s move to Liverpool came after he had managed to be an impressive performer for Charlton in his breakthrough campaign in the 2014/15 season. Having made his debut against Colchester United in the League Cup, he would go on to make 24 appearances in total that campaign showing his quality on the ball and versatility of being able to play centre-back and full-back.

Since his move to Liverpool, Gomez has managed to establish himself as a crucial player for the Reds and he has made 121 appearances for them so far. However, he is currently out with an injury that has shown how much he is missed when he is not fit.