Charlton Athletic eye Birmingham City’s Lyndon Dykes - Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City should try hijack deal | OneFootball

These three Championship sides should rival Charlton Athletic for the signing of Lyndon Dykes

Lyndon Dykes is once again the subject of transfer talk, and the Scotsman seems to finally be on his way out of Birmingham City this January.

The 30-year-old played a supporting role in the Blues' record-breaking League One-winning campaign last season, making just 25 appearances, and therefore looked likely to depart in the summer, but a loan move to Hibernian collapsed late on in the window.

Dykes stayed at Birmingham and has once again been relied on as an impact player, coming on as a substitute in 19 of his 21 appearances.

He's been effective and has scored two late winners this season against Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City, but there's an expectation that the urge to leave for first-team football will once again be there throughout the ongoing winter window.

Charlton Athletic have been eying up the 30-year-old, according to the Daily Record, as Nathan Jones aims to add a more physical presence and some more goals to his lineup. However, there's an expectation that the Addicks will face some competition.

Here are three Championship sides who could rival Charlton for Dykes' signature.

Portsmouth

Outside of Sheffield Wednesday, no side has scored fewer goals in the Championship this season than Portsmouth, which is a slight surprise given the attacking talent John Mousinho has at his disposal.

Colby Bishop hasn't kicked on from his 11-goal campaign last season, injuries have stopped the likes of Callum Lang and Josh Murphy from having as much of an impact, and the summer arrivals of Adrian Segegic and Conor Chaplain haven't resulted in an improved attacking output.

Granted, that means that Pompey have a lot of attacking players in their arsenal, but outside of Bishop, there hasn't been a focal point up top, something which Dykes could help add to.

The 29-year-old has netted fewer times than Dykes has this season, despite having played over 1,300 more Championship minutes. Portsmouth evidently need some competition up there, and the 30-year-old would provide that.

And, with the crossing talent of Murphy on the wings, the Scotsman could profit from several headed goals in the second half of the campaign.

Blackburn Rovers

Another side down at the bottom who could use some attacking reinforcements this month is Blackburn.

There's an expectation that Makhtar Gueye has played his final game for the club, after Valerien Ismael revealed that he was dropped from the final few matchday squads in 2025 due to training performances.

With the 28-year-old frozen out of the side, and Andri Gudjohnsen facing a month out with a knee injury, there's a need for a new striker to come through the door this January.

Blackburn have been floating above the bottom three for a few weeks now, and with Norwich City starting to pick up form under Philippe Clement, it won't be long until Valerien Ismael's side are sucked further in.

The presence of Dykes would help Rovers up the field and in better goalscoring positions, thus helping them garner enough positive results to steer clear of relegation.

Stoke City

Unlike Portsmouth and Blackburn, who are battling with Charlton to avoid relegation this season, Stoke City are challenging for the top six, and back-to-back wins away from home to open 2026 have Mark Robins' side just a point removed from the play-offs.

A lot of their attacking play has come via Sorba Thomas, and the focus this January will be to bring in some reinforcements to share those goal contributions.

Robert Bozenik looked like he could have been that man after he scored his first for the club on New Year's Day at Hull City, but he was forced off with what looked like a serious shoulder injury later on at the MKM Stadium. Sam Gallagher scored at Norwich on Sunday, but he also seems to be on his way out after being largely absent for the first half of the season.

Per Fotmob, Stoke average 26.8 successful long balls per match, more than anyone else in the Championship, and with Dykes being one of the more established target men in the second tier over the past four or five years, he would fit in perfectly in this Potters side.

And, like with Murphy at Portsmouth, with one of the premier crossers in the division in Thomas on Stoke's left, Dykes would be primed to profit from the Welshman's skillset.

He may not be the prettiest signing for a side with newfound promotion ambitions, but he could be effective in helping Stoke climb into the top six in the second half of the campaign.