Charlton Athletic midfielder signs two-year contract extension – with option of additional 12-month extension

Charlton Athletic midfielder Aaron Henry has signed a new two-year contract with manager Dean Holden outlining his development plans for the former England U16 international.

Henry, who turns 20 in August, was due to be a free agent – although his age would have meant compensation would still be due – if he had allowed his current terms of expire at the end of next month.

The Addicks also have an option to extend Henry’s new terms by a further 12 months.

“Prior to coming into the job I’d done a lot of due diligence on the squad and in particular the young ones,” Holden told the South London Press. “Aaron was one who stood out with his technical ability from that midfield position. He has got a fantastic range of passing, a great technician and good on set-pieces.

“It’s been a bit stop-start for him but he’s still only young. He’s been on the scene for a couple of years now but he’s still young and got a couple of opportunities towards the end of the season.

“I spoke to him and I’m looking for him to really hit the ground running on the first day of pre-season and get himself in top-notch fitness – proper trim, as athletic as he can possibly be.

“He’s a ball-playing midfielder with real ability. It’s great news that another of the youngsters has committed themselves.”

Asked what areas Henry needs to improve his game, Holden replied: “I think out of possession. We’ve done debriefs with all the players and we talk about their strengths, which are really important to keep improving them, and slight weaknesses – which everyone has got in any part of their game.

“His positioning at times we can improve on but that comes with coaching. We’ve only been in the door five minutes and it was very much a necessity to win first-team games of football in the first few months of being in the job, to stay in the division.

“We’re putting plans together now where every player in the squad will have an individual programme at the beginning of pre-season where they are getting constant work from the coaches. I brought Danny Senda up and Danny, myself and Hayesy (Anthony Hayes) will split the group up and rotate it as the season goes on – I’m talking individual personal development programmes about areas they can improve on. That’s technically and tactically. The physical aspect is taken care of by the sports science guys. And I do a lot of work psychologically as well.

“We’ll end up with seven or eight players each and they will get the right attention and time that they need. If you don’t do that then you’re just one of a group of players who sometimes get forgotten about.

“It’s a big part of how we’re going to work next season – and that’s in conjunction with the player. It’s not me sitting down and saying: ‘You need to work on this, this and this’. We’ll be looking for the player to understand where they need to improve as well. It will be a bit of a collaboration. Then there will be extras after training, two or three times a week, going over bits.

“That’s where you see players improving. It’s what I’ve done before at Stoke and Bristol City. I know Hayesy and Sends are really keen on it, from a coaching point of view. It’s where you get your teeth stuck into personal development – it doesn’t just stop once they leave Steve Avory’s academy.

“I’ve met senior players and spoken about that. It’s not just what they do on a matchday and how they lead off the pitch, it’s about them continuing to improve – irrespective of their age. The only way to do that is to know where the slight inches are that we can elevate them to the right level.”

PICTURE: PAUL EDWARDS