This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Charlton Athletic are currently in League One, where they have resided since relegation from the Championship back in 2020, but over the years the Addicks academy has produced some top talent.
For example, Atalanta star man Ademola Lookman, who scored a hat-trick in last season’s Europa League final, as the Serie A side emerged victorious, made his first steps into the professional game with the Addicks.
Another notable player who came through the ranks at The Valley before moving on to top-flight stardom is Liverpool and England defender Joe Gomez.
Miles Leaburn touted to make Premier League move from Charlton Athletic
And Football League World‘s Addicks fan pundit, Ben Fleming, believes that striker Miles Leaburn could be the next Charlton academy product to seal a big move away.
When FLW asked Ben who the club’s next player to be cashed in on was in his eyes, and to sum him up in one word, he said: “The best player right now, I think if you take a sort of holistic look at it, would probably be Leaburn.
“The word you’d use would be potential, I think.
“Obviously, he’s just come back from his big injury, which, I think he was out since January last season.
“He’s only just sort of coming back now, but he came off the bench, he was a real handful against Wrexham, scored some goals in the FA Cup, scored some goals in the EFL Trophy.
“As much as we want to get back up to the Premier League, and get back up to the Championship, our model right now is still relying on our academy bringing through good players, and selling them on.
“We haven’t necessarily done that too well, or too frequently (in the) last few years.
“I think, probably, the last big asset we sold would have been Mason Burstow a few years ago.
“It’s good that we’re keeping players at the club.
“Guys like Miles are staying, Tyreece Campbell, Nathan Asiimwe, others of the sort, Karoy Anderson, but Miles, just because of his profile and his size, his speed, his ability in the air, ball at his feet, just feels like if he can hit the heights, or if he can show the signs that he did at points when he broke through, and he’s sort of shown glimpses that he’s now getting up to full fitness, he feels like the next guy, not in the mould of Mason Burstow, but more like a Joe Aribo, or an Ezri Konsa, where it is big clubs sniffing around.
“He’s going straight into, maybe not straight into first-teams, but he feels like one of those guys, who, if he sticks with it, and stays with his current trajectory, he could easily be a sort of, maybe not a top, but a lower to mid-table Premier League striker, I think.
“I think he still needs to do a lot to prove himself, clearly that injury has slowed things down, and in some ways that suits us, if we can keep him at the club for as long as we can, but he feels like the next big thing, and I think if we play it right, and use him well, I think he can do well for us and then be someone that we sell on.”
Miles Leaburn has attracted Premier League interest in the past and is likely to do so again
It is no surprise that Ben has picked out Leaburn as an Addicks talent who could be the next to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Gomez and Aribo, and join a top-flight club.
For a player who is just 20-years-old, the forward boasts a wealth of experience, as he made 13 appearances in League One last season, and 35 the season before.
Leaburn also poses a clear threat, as he notched 12 goals and three assists during the 2022/23 third tier campaign in which he made 35 outings, but last season was hampered by injury, with a hamstring problem ruling him out from December until the end of the season.
|
Miles Leaburn’s 2022/23 League One Stats – As Per Fotmob |
|
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
35 |
|
Starts |
18 |
|
Goals |
12 |
|
Assists |
2 |
According to a report from the Mail Online last year, Premier League duo Chelsea and Brentford were keen on the services of the target man, just a month before the injury that ended his season early occurred.
If he can remain injury-free, and rediscover his goal scoring form this season, then there is every possibility that similar transfer interest will resurface during the coming months.
Related
Charlton Athletic: Lyle Taylor praised for impact despite eventual exit
Lyle Taylor arrived at Charlton Athletic with not an immense amount of hype, but scored a number of goals and helped them reach the Championship.
