Cambridge United should strike transfer reunion after Charlton Athletic update | OneFootball

Luke Berry is set to be a free agent this summer, and a return to Cambridge United should be on the cards

Charlton Athletic have said goodbye to Luke Berry after it was revealed that he'll be departing the club when his contract expires this summer.

The 33-year-old midfielder was one of two names on the Addicks' retained list to not be offered a new contract, bringing an end to his two-year stay at the Valley.

Berry was brought to the club in the summer of 2024 after his contract with Luton Town had run out. He was part of the core group at Kenilworth Road who had been with the Hatters all the way from League Two to the Premier League, and made 17 top-flight appearances in the 2023/24 campaign.

He reunited with Charlton manager Nathan Jones last season and played a key role in the Addicks' promotion to the Championship, appearing in 41 league games, 32 of which were starts.

Unfortunately, after sustaining an injury in the first leg of the play-offs against Wycombe Wanderers, which forced him to miss the second, he failed to break back into the team for the play-off final, and that set the tone for a Championship return which saw him ride the bench for the majority of the season, making just 16 appearances.

Cambridge United should swoop for free agent Luke Berry, bringing him back to where he began his career

With Berry available for free, the sentimental destination would be for him to return to Cambridge United, who returned to League One at the first time of asking this season after finishing third in League Two.

The Cambridge-born midfielder began his football career in the U's academy when they were a National League side. He made his senior debut aged just 17 in a loss against Salisbury, and from then on, he'd become a stalwart in the engine room at the Abbey Stadium.

He scored 12 goals en route to their second-placed finish in the 2013/14 campaign, which ended in Wembley triumph and a return to the EFL after a 2-1 win against Gateshead. In fact, that would be the final game of his first stint at the club.

Indeed, Berry would sign for Barnsley in 2014, and despite making 31 appearances in League One for the Tykes, he'd be free to leave again a year later, and he made his return to Cambridge for his second stint.

Those two years back at the Abbey have arguably been the best two of his career, scoring 29 goals from central midfield in two seasons, missing just one league game over the course of them. He hasn't scored in the double digits in a single campaign since.

After a 17-goal year nine years ago, he'd ultimately put in a transfer request, which the majority of Cambridge fans didn't find that shocking, and ended up heading to Luton.

It didn't take him a year to return this time, but perhaps a third stint could be on the cards, with the opportunity to add to his 255 appearances for the club.

Luke Berry would be a brilliant signing for a Cambridge United side looking to establish themselves back in League One

Cambridge have been formidable this season, especially defensively, with Neil Harris' side conceding just 33 goals across their 46 games en route to automatic promotion.

The U's are easily in a better position this summer than they were the last time they were in the third tier, but work will still need to be done to improve the squad, especially with their top assister, James Brophy, departing at the end of his contract.

Just two years ago, Berry was brought in to a side whose aim was promotion into the Championship, and while the midfielder will turn 34 in July, he'll still have the quality to at least be a top midfielder for one whose goal next season is to safely avoid relegation.

So, even if a move for the 33-year-old is one born out of sentiment, it also has clear benefits in ensuring Cambridge can be competitive in the division above.

And if Berry can replicate his 17-goal season from the last time he played a full year at the Abbey, then he'd be heralded as even more of a hero than he already is.