Bak in business! Charlton new boy on Sheffield Wednesday exit and a fresh start

BY EDMUND BRACK
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk

New Charlton Athletic signing Tyreeq Bakinson believes he is hitting the sweet spot in his senior career as he arrives at The Valley on a six-month loan.

The 25-year-old Londoner started off at Luton, progressing through their academy to make a handful of senior appearances before being sold to Bristol City.

He spent time out on loan at Newport County, Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town before returning to Ashton Gate and moving on to Sheffield Wednesday in July 2022.

Bakinson featured heavily in the Owls side that won promotion to the Championship via the League One play-offs last season, but has played a bit-part role after Moore left and 34-year-old Danny Rohl became head coach at Hillsborough.

Charlton snapped up the midfielder last Friday.

Bakinson is looking to bring his experience of nearly 150 Football League games to help Michael Appleton’s side climb the table.

“I feel as though I have learned a lot,” Bakinson told the South London Press of his career to date.

“It’s good to have experience and I’m ready to use it to help the team.

“I know a few players already at the club but I didn’t need much of a background check – it’s such a big club. I spoke with the manager and the vision of what he wants to do and where he wants to take it – it was a no-brainer for me. There is a lot of potential to achieve great things.

“Everything is ready for it to return to where it [Charlton] should be – that’s one of the reasons why I was so happy to get it over the line.”

Bakinson made 26 appearances for the Owls last season, dipping in and out of the side but coming up with vital contributions throughout the campaign – including scoring the winner in a 1-0 win against his new side in August.

But the Camden-born midfielder was left on the bench in both semi-final clashes against Peterborough, which saw Wednesday overturn a

4-0 first-leg defeat to win 5-1 in the second leg and eventually book their place in the final on penalties.

Bakinson was not in Wednesday’s matchday squad for the 1-0 extra-time win over Barnsley at Wembley which took them into the Championship.

“It was a season where I learned a lot,” he said. “It ended in promotion, which is something that I will remember for a very long time.

“I was a bit disappointed [not to feature in the play-offs], but in a season which ends in promotion, it’s always about the team.

“You need all your players to take part and to have an involvement in that sort of achievement, so I take pride in being a part of that.”

Bakinson had made just 10 appearances for Wednesday this season before leaving to join Charlton.

The Owls sacked Moore after the win at Wembley and hired ex-Watford boss Xisco Munoz as they geared up for life back in the Championship. But the Spaniard failed to win any of his first 10 Championship games and left the Owls seven points adrift from safety.

They appointed former Germany assistant coach Rohl – who became the youngest boss in the English Football League at 34 – and also brought in ex-Charlton boss Chris Powell as his assistant.

Bakinson only managed 38 minutes of football underneath Rohl before the January transfer window opened. When asked if it was the right time for him to move on, he said: “I believe so. It was quite a turbulent start.

“We had a lot going on behind the scenes with managers changing and things such as that, so I was happy to get the move sorted.”

Bakinson joined the Addicks on a six-month loan, which would take him to the end of his contract with the Owls and make him a free agent in the summer.

“At the moment it’s a possibility,” said the midfielder about earning a contract extension with Charlton. “Sometimes you can get overwhelmed if you think about things big-picture wise and you look too far ahead – you can lose focus on the present.

“I want to focus on the season and then look at that when the time comes.”

PICTURE: PA