Charlton Athletic urged to consider £2m transfer sale as Preston North End circle | OneFootball

FLW's Charlton fan pundit feels that if Preston offer £2 million for Tyreece Campbell, they should accept it

The new arrivals at Charlton Athletic of former academy product Karlan Grant and Luton Town's Millenic Alli have put Tyreece Campbell's place in the Addicks squad at risk.

The Charlton academy product played a starring role in Nathan Jones' side throughout the 2024/25 campaign, which saw the club promoted to the Championship via the League One play-offs. That year, he started 37 league games and scored seven times.

But the jump in quality from the third to the second tier wasn't one that Campbell was able to make quickly enough.

The 22-year-old made 21 starts in the first half of the campaign, but only scored once, and had his minutes reduced massively when Lyndon Dykes came in to bolster the forward options and Luke Chambers arrived to play off the left, albeit as a wing-back, rather than a winger.

Charlton Athletic urged to cash in on Tyreece Campbell

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For the second successive summer, Preston North End are plotting a raid for a left-sided Charlton player. This time last year, Thierry Small made the move to Deepdale, and now, they're interested in bringing Campbell to Lancashire, according to Alan Nixon.

The 22-year-old has one year remaining on his deal, after the Addicks invoked their extension clause this past summer. The fact they didn't tie him down to fresh terms could indicate either that the club aren't interested in keeping him long-term, or Campbell himself is keen on a move away.

Either way, the arrivals of two new left-sided attackers this summer indicate that the academy product's time at The Valley may be coming to an end, and in the wake of Preston's interest, FLW's Charlton fan pundit, Chris Woodward, has urged the club to move on.

"I think it'd be sensible for Charlton to cash in on Campbell now, given the circumstances," Chris told FLW.

"We're not a club who can afford to reject decent money for players, and we could definitely do with the extra funds to upgrade key positions elsewhere, such as in central midfield and at right-back.

"We have Grant and Alli, so we have sufficient quality in that position, so we won't be left scrambling if he does go. Campbell has bags of potential, but he's nowhere near the finished product, and keeping him could be a risk if he doesn't improve."

Indeed, despite the down year in his first Championship campaign, there's still potential that Campbell can improve, and a club like Preston are seemingly keen to take that chance, while Charlton may not be, instead focusing on players who they know can contribute sufficiently.

Charlton Athletic fan pundit discusses Tyreece Campbell price tag

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That being said, just because Nathan Jones' side aren't in a position right now to take risks on players taking that step next season, it doesn't mean they should be willing to discard promising talent for next-to-nothing, according to Woodward.

The Charlton fan pundit feels that, even in the final year of his deal, the club should be demanding a decent seven-figure fee to reflect the potential he could hit.

"Campbell does have a lot of potential to be a good winger at this level, so I doubt we'd let him go for cheap," Chris added.

"In today's market, £2 million would be fair. Not enough to classify as a top Championship winger, but enough to appreciate the potential and what he does bring, such as pace and dribbling ability.

"I think it'd be a sensible move for all parties if it does go through."

Charlton Athletic may struggle to get £2 million from Preston North End for Tyreece Campbell

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Preston have shown a willingness to spend already this summer, smashing their transfer record by paying up to £6 million to sign Alfie Devine permanently.

However, before then, their record fee was Callum Lang, who they only spent around £2 million on back in January. If these links were before the Devine deal, there'd have been some questions asked at Deepdale about whether they were willing to break a transfer record, or at least come close to it, for Campbell.

The 22-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, which automatically puts the buying team at a head start. While Charlton will be liable for compensation if he does leave at the end of his deal next summer, due to his academy status, it'd likely be less than what a permanent sale would bring in over the coming weeks.

Additionally, as Woodward said, Campbell is nowhere near the finished product, and while a £2 million fee could end up being doubled, tripled, even quadrupled in the future if he does take those next steps, if he doesn't, it would be a significant fee wasted for a club like Preston.

Perhaps another Championship side would be more open to meeting what the fan pundit believes their demands should be this summer for the wideman, but if Preston are leading a one-team race for Campbell, Charlton may be forced to accept a lower price to avoid losing him for even less next summer.