Charlton Athletic boss expecting cautious opening to January transfer window

Johnnie Jackson reckons the rise in Covid-19 cases is set to see clubs be more cautious at the start of the January transfer window.

The Addicks had an outbreak of the virus with their festive fixtures at AFC Wimbledon and Gillingham postponed.

“It’s difficult to know how quickly things can move,” said Charlton boss Jackson, whose side are due to be back in action when Wycombe head to The Valley tomorrow.

“We’re monitoring a few situations and highlighted certain ones we feel might be able to help.

“It’s a difficult window. The problem at the moment is that with Covid it means people are unsure how their squads look. There will be a little hesitancy early on because they might be light at this stage and later in the window they might not be light.

“So it could take a bit of time.

“We’ve highlighted positions and talked about where we need to strengthen.”

Jackson admits Charlton will also be careful in terms of timing of player outgoings. There looks a strong possibility that Albie Morgan could head out on a temporary basis while Harry Arter has struggled to feature since arriving on loan from Nottingham Forest.

“I need to see the lads we’ve had missing – when we get them back – and how they come back,” said the Addicks chief. “It could take certain lads longer to get to get back to where they were than others.

“You don’t know how it will affect people. We need to monitor that closely. It is difficult to say right here, right now that this player or that one can go out. We might need them, especially with the congestion and run of games we have now. We need to be smart about it. It will be dictated by the business we do.”