Charlton Athletic bring former Brentford, Luton and Colchester coach into their set-up

Charlton have appointed Jon De Souza as men’s first-team development coach.

Addicks owner Thomas Sandgaard had talked in recent months about adding a coach to the set-up who would focus on players individually.

De Souza, who has a 17-year career in the professional game with the likes of Luton, Brentford and Colchester, will work with first-team players and also ones in the academy looking to step up.

He said: “Charlton has an excellent tradition of producing players and then those players doing well for the first team, it is a tradition I want to help add to. The ownership’s plans for the club to get promoted to the Championship and further, show that the club is focussed on improving on the quality of our players.

“I’m excited to get onto the grass and do what I am most passionate about, which is working with the players and helping them progress.”

Sandgaard added: “I am really pleased we’ve been able to add Jon to our coaching staff. He has excellent experience and is well-respected in the game. He’ll play a very important role in developing and improving our players, which will be vital in our growth as a club.”

De Souza, who holds the UEFA Pro licence, began working in professional football in 2005 at Luton Town’s academy, where he became their U18s and reserve team manager until 2011, when he joined Brentford to become their U21s head coach.

At Brentford he worked with current academy coaches Anthony Hayes and Danny Senda and also supported Mark Warburton’s first-team staff when the club were promoted from League One in 2013-14.

He became academy manager at Colchester United in 2016 before becoming their technical and performance director in 2019.