Charlton Athletic lived to regret one Lee Bowyer transfer in particular - it ended on a sour note | OneFootball

The Addicks' decision to sign a midfielder from MK Dons in 2020 did not pay off.

Charlton Athletic lived to regret their decision to sign midfielder Alex Gilbey from Milton Keynes Dons during the summer transfer window in 2020.

The Addicks had suffered relegation from the Championship on the final day of the 2019/20 season, so manager Lee Bowyer was tasked with building a squad that would be capable of bouncing back to the second tier at the first time of asking during the summer of 2020.

Bowyer had a difficult job on his hands because Charlton were under a transfer embargo due to financial and ownership issues at the time. However, the club secured approval from the EFL to sign Gilbey from MK Dons in August, and made him their first signing of the transfer window for an undisclosed fee.

Charlton signed a number of midfielders despite the off-field issues at the club during Bowyer's tenure, and it would be fair to say that some were more successful than others.

Conor Gallagher and Josh Cullen proved to be huge hits at The Valley during their respective loan spells from Chelsea and West Ham United, while Jonny Williams played his part in the Addicks' League One play-off triumph at Wembley in 2019.

On the other hand, the likes of Joe Ledley, Ben Watson and Marcus Maddison failed to impress following their arrivals in SE7.

There was plenty of optimism at The Valley when Gilbey signed a three-year deal with Charlton in August 2020, but the midfielder never quite lived up to expectations in the capital.

Alex Gilbey didn't live up to expectations at Charlton Athletic

Gilbey had scored five goals in 30 League One appearances for MK Dons during the curtailed 2019/20 season, so there was every reason to believe he would be able to kick on and play a key role as part of a stronger squad at Charlton.

Bowyer made it clear how excited he was to link up with the former Colchester United man at the time of his arrival in SE7, as per Charlton's official club website.

"I’m over the moon because we’ve brought in a very good player," Bowyer said.

"He’ll bring us a lot of energy in the middle of the park, physicality and goals.

"He’s 25 which is a good age to work with and he’s already got a lot of games under his belt.

"He was a good player for MK Dons, so we’ll bring him into our environment, look to improve him as a player and make us a better side."

However, Gilbey only managed to score six goals in 66 appearances for the Addicks, as the club failed to reach the play-offs in either of his seasons at The Valley.

The midfielder was sent on loan to League Two side Stevenage for the final year of his Charlton contract, highlighting just how unsuccessful the signing had turned out to be.

Alex Gilbey's Charlton Athletic spell ended on a sour note

Gilbey played a key role for Steve Evans' Stevenage side that won promotion to League One during the 2022/23 season.

However, during the celebrations after their automatic promotion was confirmed, he was seen on video chanting "we all hate Charlton" alongside his teammates, despite still being contracted to the Addicks at the time.

Gilbey faced disciplinary action as a result of taking part in the negative chant about Charlton, before he was released by the Addicks that summer.