Charlton Athletic react as Southampton lodge shock £7m transfer push | OneFootball

Charlton Athletic are understood to have rejected a sizeable offer from the Saints for their highly-rated young England Under-20 forward Micah Mbick.

Charlton Athletic have turned down a substantial offer from Championship rivals Southampton for one of their most highly-rated young assets, forward Micah Mbick.

It's been something of a dream start to the 2026-27 Championship season for Charlton Athletic. Their first three games yielded three consecutive victories, taking them all the way to the top of the early-season table.

And one of their great hopes for the future is forward Micah Mbick. The 19-year-old has been with the club since he was an under-10, but had only ever made eight League appearances for them prior to the start of this season, but a loan spell in League Two with Colchester United, although truncated by injury, was enough to persuade the Addicks' head coach Nathan Jones to give him a chance in the first-team squad for this season.

Mbick has already been capped once for the England Under-20s, and there has been interest in him from elsewhere, but it's now been reported that Charlton have rejected a multi-million pound bid for him from Championship rivals Southampton at the very end of the summer transfer window.

Charlton Athletic have rejected a bid worth up to £7 million from Southampton for Micah Mbick

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Posting to the social media platform X on the evening of the final day of the transfer window, Charlton Live's Tash Everitt has confirmed that Charlton Athletic have turned down a substantial offer from Championship rivals Southampton for Micah Mbick.

She confirms that the Saints made an offer to Charlton of £5 million plus £2 million pounds for the 19-year-old but that Charlton have knocked back their offer.

Mbick signed a new contract at The Valley in the summer of 2025, committing the player to three years at The Valley. At the time that the contract extension was agreed, Nathan Jones was full of praise for the young forward: "He has a wonderful profile, a good size, good pace, good power and he’s come through this wonderful academy again, so we’re really delighted to have secured him and we’re excited about what he can bring. We feel that within the squad we have a real good blend of youth and experience."

Mbick impressed at Colchester in 2025-26, despite picking up a serious injury

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Having only made eight appearances for Charlton Athletic up to the start of this season, it's Micah Mbick's performances for Colchester United that will have caught the eye of other clubs.

The 6'4" tall forward scored nine goals and contributed two assists for Colchester United in 25 appearances in all competitions before suffering a serious knee injury during a match against Newport County in March which kept him out for the remainder of the season.

Having returned to The Valley, Nathan Jones has given him a place in the first-team squad for 2026-27, and Mbick has already made three appearances from the bench for them so far this season. It's very clear from the fact that Charlton have turned down an offer which could have been worth £7 million for a player who's only just got into double figures in terms of appearances for them that they rate him very highly indeed.

Charlton's outstanding start to life in the Championship has been one of the surprises of the early part of this season. Having won promotion through the play-offs at the end of 2024-25, they finished last season in 19th place in the table and six points above the relegation places.

Their early-season form has indicated that they could improve substantially on last season's final position, and the young striker who has been with the club for a decade despite still only be 19-years-old will now be with them for at least part of that journey.