Charlton Athletic boss Lee Bowyer on Tariqe Fosu’s contract situation – and why all his attacking players need to produce end product

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Tariqe Fosu has been urged to add more end product to his game – especially with his Charlton Athletic contract due to be up in the summer.

The 23-year-old winger is due to be a free agent at the end of June. But Addicks manager Lee Bowyer has confirmed before that they want the Wandsworth-born attacker to stay in SE7.

Yet Fosu and Mark Marshall both came in for criticism from the Charlton chief after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Southend United.

Marshall did produce an assist for Ben Reeves’ second-half equalise but Bowyer’s assessment post-match pulled no punches: “The two wide men, their end product wasn’t good enough.”

And the Addicks boss made it clear that all his attacking players need to make notable contributions.

“It’s not just Tariqe – if you’re an attacking midfielder or a striker then you get judged on your final ball and decision-making in the final third,” Bowyer told the South London Press on Monday morning.

“If you are not assisting or scoring goals as a wide man or a striker, then what are you bringing to the team? And that’s every player in those positions.

“If you’re not scoring, you need to be assisting.

“At the moment it is just not happening for him [Fosu]. I know he is complicating the game, he just needs to get back to basics.

“He’s been too inconsistent. We’ve definitely not seen the player we had last season – and that’s the frustrating thing because I know what he’s capable of.

“You can’t just keep letting people play, and that’s not just Tariqe I’m talking about. We have people on the bench who can make an impact now.

“You can’t keep giving people chances – because we haven’t got that long left in the season. You either produce when called upon or you don’t play. That’s not just this football club, that’s every football club.”

And Bowyer reckons Fosu recapturing his 2017-18 form – when he scored nine goals – is crucial for him on a personal level.

Fosu has started 13 of the 23 matches he has been available for in the current campaign.

“Whether he stays here or he goes somewhere else, your performances determine what you get in this game,” said Bowyer. “If you don’t produce you are not going to have a million people knocking on your door, that can include the club you are playing for as well.”

Bowyer is hopeful of securing George Lapslie and Joe Aribo on new deals. Goalkeeper Dillon Phillips penned an extension until the summer of 2021 last week.

“We’re close with George,” said Bowyer. “We just need his agent to come back to, but we don’t think it’s far away.

“We’re trying to come to an agreement [with Aribo]. I spoke to Joe at the back end of last week and he is saying he wants to sign. So we’re close there, I think.

“I’m guessing it is just down to us sorting things out with his agent, a few little tweaks.”