£1.5m Charlton Athletic star could fix issue Nathan Jones is facing right now | OneFootball

Charlton Athletic are in need of goals, and Tanto Olaofe could be the man to provide that

Only bottom club Sheffield United have scored fewer goals than Charlton Athletic's three over the opening five games of the new Championship season.

Overall, it's been a solid opening month for the Addicks in their first campaign back in the second tier since the 2019/20 term. They've battled and been competitive in every game so far, even their 3-1 defeat against QPR, and arguably deserve to be sitting on more than five points.

However, a lack of goals is truly stopping a solid opening handful of games in the Championship from being a great opening handful of games.

With Matty Godden still nursing a knee injury to begin the season, academy graduate Miles Leaburn and last season's League One top scorer Charlie Kelman have led the line, but neither has been able to open their Championship accounts.

Currently sitting on the bench is £1.5 million summer signing Tanto Olaofe, who terrorised League One defences last season at Stockport County with his blistering pace and ability to create chances out of nothing.

With his fellow frontmen failing to hit the mark, perhaps it could be time for the 25-year-old to look to stake a claim for some more league minutes at his new club.

Tanto Olaofe could offer something different for Charlton Athletic

It's been a frustrating opening month in a Charlton shirt for Olaofe, who had become used to regular game time under Dave Challinor in the two-and-a-half years he spent at Stockport.

He netted 20 times in the Hatters' League Two-winning campaign, and then a further eight in their first season back in League One, five of which came in the latter half of the season, when the 25-year-old was promoted back into the starting eleven after Louie Barry was recalled by Aston Villa.

So far this season, however, Olaofe has played just 20 minutes of Championship football in four separate bench appearances and was left on the bench in the 1-1 draw against his former side, Millwall, on Saturday.

The former County man is incredibly direct and looks to use his pace and dribbling to engage defenders and force them into awkward situations, but he has yet to truly show that in Charlton colours, mainly because he hasn't had much of an opportunity to.

He's been subbed on in the last ten minutes of all his Championship appearances thus far, and has had to watch as his side struggles to put the ball in the back of the net.

Many would argue that Olaofe lacks the composure necessary to be a starting Championship starter, but in fact, his shot conversion rate last season in League One actually matched Charlie Kelman's (18%) - the American just took 61 more shots across the campaign.

Even if Oloafe isn't the answer, Charlton's attacks arguably need freshening up, and the 25-year-old could contribute towards that.

Whilst it's been proven recently by the likes of Hull City and Derby County that you can stay up on solid defensive foundations, life is made a whole lot easier if the goals are going in at the other end.

Welcoming Godden back from his injury layoff will go a long way in helping improve the goalscoring output at the club, given he already has bags of experience in leading the line for Championship clubs, but in the meantime, Addicks fans will be hoping that this is an issue which can be sorted sooner rather than later.

A game against Sheffield United would have been the perfect way to get firing in front of goal this time last week, but Chris Wilder's return may make their trip to Bramall Lane that little bit more difficult.

Nevertheless, a game against the current joint-worst defensive record could provide a good opportunity to take the game to a team that may still be lacking in confidence slightly.

Whether Jones remains with Kelman or Leaburn, or decides to use Olaofe from the off for the first time in the league, Charlton will be hoping for a few goals to kickstart their Championship goal threat this season.