Charlton manager Lee Bowyer: I’ll make as many changes as I can for West Ham tie

Lee Bowyer says he will make as many changes as possible for Charlton’s EFL Cup tie at West Ham United tonight.

The Addicks are under a transfer embargo as they wait for their ownership issues to be resolved.

And Bowyer has previously spelled out that their League One campaign takes priority as they seek a swift return to the Championship.

But the Charlton manager has confirmed that Charlie Barker, 17, will feature against the Premier League side at the London Stadium. The teenager – promoted to the first-team due to a dearth of defenders – played at right-back at Crewe on Saturday.

Barker has also started for the SE7 outfit in the EFL Trophy and EFL Cup.

Charlton have seen first-team options leave the club with Tom Lockyer and Naby Sarr joining Luton and Huddersfield respectively. Jason Pearce is out with a knee injury.

“I will make changes – as many as humanly possible,” said Bowyer. “That’s all I can say. But we’re limited with numbers.

“The young lad will play again because it is defenders where we’re short. Darren Pratley played centre-back like a seasoned pro on Saturday – he was outstanding, like it had been his position his whole career.

“Young Charlie did well in his first league game, he was a little bit out of position. He’d played there before but not against men. He was up against one of the better wingers in the division – he was voted one of the best last season in League Two.

“It’s a difficult game. We’re League One with a small squad and they are a Premier League side with a big squad – it’s chalk and cheese really with the two squads.

“But we’ll go there and not just sit back and defend for 90 minutes. We’ll try and win the game. The only thing with these teams is they are more clinical – they get a chance in front of goal and they score. We can’t make any mistakes if we do we will get punished.”