Charlton Athletic plot Birmingham City transfer raid for 48-cap international | OneFootball

Lyndon Dykes has been heavily linked with a move away from St. Andrew's in recent times

Charlton Athletic are reportedly plotting a transfer move for Birmingham City forward Lyndon Dykes, as the Scotland international seeks the minutes he believes will ensure him a spot in Steve Clarke's squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

That is according to an update from the Daily Record (10:53AM on January 2nd), with both the Addicks and Blues enduring inconsistent starts to their Championship campaigns following respective promotions from League One as either champions or play-off winners.

Nathan Jones' side had been amongst the surprise packages in the early weeks of the season, but have since faltered, although they would record an extremely credible draw against league leaders, Coventry City, at The Valley on New Year's Day.

Birmingham, meanwhile, were tipped by many to immediately make their mark on the second tier after following their record-breaking promotion campaign under Chris Davies with yet another extremely active and well-documented summer spending spree.

However, the Blues boss has seen his side's performance levels take a massive hit in recent weeks, with a 1-1 draw against Charlton at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on December 13th representing one of currently seven games without a win, as they prepare to face the Reds' previous opponents in a critical West Midlands derby in the Second City on Sunday lunchtime.

Davies has suffered an availability crisis across all departments of late due to international call-ups, injuries and suspensions, meaning a handful of his players who had previously become the subject of exit talk, mainly the duo of Liverpool and Brighton loanees in Eiran Cashin and Lewis Koumas, have received plenty of minutes throughout the current batch of relentless fixtures.

It is fair to say, though, that whilst the 40-year-old has often been complimentary towards Dykes for his mentality, departure discourse has often surrounded the 48-time international in recent weeks and months, and those circumstances appear to have shown no signs of stopping.

Charlton Athletic plot transfer move for Birmingham City striker Lyndon Dykes amid previous exit talk

Throughout recent years, Dykes has become a household name at Championship level, mainly through an initial spell at Charlton's capital rivals, Queens Park Rangers after moving to West London from Livingston on an initial four-year contract back in August 2020.

After almost four years at Loftus Road, Dykes became one of many signings with links to the SPFL recruited by former Celtic assistant, Davies, last summer, moving from W12 for a reported £1m on a three-year deal until the summer of 2027.

Despite having plenty of experience to call upon, the tall forward was often utilised as a deputising figure for Jay Stansfield and Alfie May last term, as the aforementioned duo scored 35 of Blues' 84 goals in League One between them.

However, the 30-year-old has certainly become a cult figure at St. Andrew's for his collection of goals, many of which have been late winners, such as his header against Bradford City in the EFL Trophy semi-final 11 months ago, as well as dramatic finishes against Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City in the early weeks of the current campaign.

Yet, as Dykes hopes to feature in the World Cup after playing a key role in the Tartan Army's qualifying campaign, it is fair to say that only two of his 20 league appearances so far this term make those hopes somewhat questionable.

The striker was the subject of interest from Preston North End, Hibernian and Aberdeen in the final stages of the summer window, before a move failed to materialise.

But, with the current window open until February 2nd, it has been claimed that Charlton are looking to bolster their attacking department with Dykes' signature, as he has emerged as a top target on Jones' transfer shortlist.

In the lead up to the transfer window, Davies revealed that Birmingham "will work" with Dykes if the right opportunity for a departure was to arise for all parties.

In this case, a return to London would benefit all involved, as his physical presence and overall intelligence would bolster an attack which has only found the net 23 times in 24 Championship games so far, with Sonny Carey leading the individual scoring charts for the Addicks at present with five goals.

Dykes already has two goals and one assist to his name so far this season having played a cameo role behind the likes of Stansfield, Kyogo Furuhashi and Marvin Ducksch.

It was also reported last month that a new striker remains on Davies' own list of priorities, meaning that such developments have potentially allowed for Dykes to move on to pastures new, ending lengthy uncertainty over his immediate future in the process, which would also be a major confidence boost.