"I do worry about.." - Reaction given as Charlton Athletic eye Jonson Clarke-Harris | OneFootball

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Charlton Athletic currently sit 14th in League One, six points clear of the relegation zone, but 14 points below the top-six, which makes the play-offs an unrealistic target this campaign.

One of the biggest blows handed to Michael Appleton's side this campaign was the injury suffered by starlet Miles Leaburn, in December which was reported to be a five-month set-back.

Leaburn has shown plenty of promise this campaign prior to his injury, scoring three goals and creating one assist in 13 League One appearances and nine starts.

Despite the fact that club top goalscorer Aflie May has bagged an impressive 15 goals, making him joint top goalscorer in the third-tier, the Addicks still miss the presence of Leaburn.

The January transfer window offers the side from the Valley with an opportunity to plug this gap, and London News Online suggest that the Addicks are interested in Peterborough's Jonson Clarke-Harris.

Clarke-Harris deal may not be cheap for the Addicks

The 29-year-old has only started in 13 of the Posh's 25 games in League One this campaign, but he has still managed to find the back of the net on six occasions, which could be seen as evidence that he is still one of the deadliest finishers in the third-tier.

Just last season, Clarke-Harris scored 26 goals, and was the division's top scorer alongside Conor Chaplin who earned promotion with Ipswich Town.

The prospect of a prolific striker such as Clarke-Harris linking up with Alfie May is an extremely exciting one for fans of the Addicks if a deal between the South London outfit and the Posh comes to fruition.

However, due to the talent of Clarke-Harris, the Posh will not be willing to let go of their man easily and will demand a decent transfer sum for such a dangerous forward.

Writing on X, about the money Posh are willing to accept for Clarke Harris, Posh Chairman Darragh MacAnthony wrote: "Turned down 300k, 400k, and 450k so far.

"Goals aren't cheap."

Would Clarke-Harris be a good signing for the Addicks?

Speaking to Football League World, FLW's Charlton fan pundit Ben Fleming said: "I think in theory the deal works.

"There's the age profile, he's probably a bit older than what you'd like but Alfie May has come in, he's a few years older, and has been doing well so if we can get him (Clarke-Harris) in and he can start banging in the goals, then that's good.

"He certainly could help with tutelage for Leaburn when he's back.

"I do worry about some of the fees that are being touted.

"Darragh MacAnthony was on Twitter (now known as X) talking about upwards of £300,000 which feels like quite the outlay for a 29-year-old.

"I mean, I guess it's similar to what we paid for Alfie May, but still I wonder if when Leaburn's back or if we play May up top, would that not negate some of the issues?

"Then, we could use that (Clarke-Harris) money elsewhere, I'm not so sure, but it's a sign of ambition from the new owners to go out and to spend money like that on a strike, and it would certainly help.

"I think we've seen Alfie May struggles to play up top on his own, and that's why he sort of played out on the right for the last month or so, when Leaburn's been out, so if we could move to two up top and have Johnson-Clarke Harris, Alfie May, and Leaburn when he comes back, that would work."

"But, I'd be so wary of paying over the odds, given we're not exactly going up this season.