Charlton Athletic owner Thomas Sandgaard has revealed that strengthening the defence is the top priority going into the upcoming January transfer window.
The Addicks have been on a ludicrous run of form under caretaker boss Johnnie Jackson, winning six out of his nine games in charge in League One to move them up to 11th in the table when they were in the relegation zone over a month ago.
Despite the run of results though there are problems which have cropped recently in the form of injuries that have mainly come at the back.
Sam Lavelle and Ryan Inniss have both been out for a while and it's left Sean Clare - naturally a midfielder but who can also play right-back - to slot in on the right side of a back three.
Charlton would be in trouble if the likes of Akin Famewo and the experienced Jason Pearce were to be struck down and that's why it's important for the club to address that in the form of new signings when 2022 begins, according to Sandgaard.
“I expect we will be doing a mix of investment in very young players, up-and-coming, that we can develop much further and therefore they can keep playing for us as we hopefully move up the ranks," Sandgaard said to the South London Press.
"And maybe one, maximum two, loan players to strengthen a couple of positions where we still see we are a little bit weak.
“We’ll see if we need anything more up front.
"We definitely need more defensively because of injuries and simply we don’t have enough depth there.”
The Verdict
Sandgaard has already invested a decent amount over the summer into the playing squad and it seems as though more could be coming to push the Addicks to the next level.
The tide has turned massively since Jackson was installed as the interim manager and Sandgaard will know full-well from the tweets he receives on a daily basis that the ex-Charlton midfielder is wanted on a permanent basis by supporters.
He will need to make a decision sooner rather than later if Jackson is the man he wants because he will need to be backed accordingly in January to get the London club into the play-offs.
Jackson's going the right way about it already and fans will be happy to see that the defence is a place that will be looked at - they've looked solid enough there in recent weeks but more depth isn't a bad thing whatsoever.