Exclusive: How Don Goodman believes Charlton Athletic can survive in the Championship | OneFootball

Speaking exclusively with FLW, Don Goodman has been discussing Charlton's survival chances upon on their return to the Championship next season.

Don Goodman believes that Charlton Athletic's recruitment has to be spot on in order to consolidate themselves back in the Championship.

The South London outfit last featured at second tier level in the 2019/20 season, in which they were relegated back to League One on the final day of the season after gaining promotion in the third tier play-off final against Sunderland just 14 months prior.

However, after emerging victorious at Wembley Stadium once more last month, as Macauley Gillesphey's stunning free-kick was enough to see off an in-form Leyton Orient side under the arch, it hasn't been the most convenient start to what is a critical period of preparation at the Valley.

However, rumours of uncertainty have recently been put to bed as Addicks boss, Nathan Jones, put pen-to-paper on a fresh and lengthy five-year deal in SE7, quashing Cardiff City's hopes of prizing the boyhood Bluebirds supporter back to South Wales as the two clubs will officially swap places in the pyramid in the coming days.

Whilst it is great news, and arguably, the biggest piece of business which could occur in this part of the capital between now and the second Deadline Day on September 1st, Goodman believes that any incomings have to be of a certain quality before looking to bulk out the squad in order to prove the doubters wrong, with many likely to tip the Reds for an immediate relegation.

Don Goodman issues Charlton Athletic transfer advice ahead of Championship return

Five players - Dean Bouzanis, Tennai Watson, Aaron Henry, Chucks Aneke and Danny Hylton - were all released by the club shortly after promotion, whilst the highly-rated Thierry Small opted to decline fresh terms, instead moving to Preston North End on a four-year deal.

Whilst plenty of talk surrounding Charlton has centered around the managerial situation, the club have recently been linked with a swoop for Akin Famewo, who has previously played 62 times for the club in two loan spells between 2020 and 2022, whilst Sheffield Wednesday are also looking to tie down the 26-year-old to a new deal amid uncertainty at Hillsborough.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman believes that the Addicks' recruitment will likely determine their fortunes over the course of the 46-game season, especially when their financial resources aren't in the same ballpark as the fellow promoted clubs, Birmingham City and Wrexham.

"Nathan Jones doesn't need any advice from me!" the Sky Sports pundit began. "What he will do is look at the bare-faced facts, and he'll look at how strong Birmingham City and Wrexham are (after) going up.

"They'll most likely spend a bit of money, so he will know it's going to be a tough season in the Championship next season," Goodman added.

"But, he's been there before, he knows what it's like, and he will know he needs to add some serious quality to his squad.

"The recruitment, I suspect, will be aimed at players who can go straight into the starting XI rather than squad players, really.

"It will be an interesting summer for Charlton Athletic and their recruitment team," the 59-year-old concluded.

Nathan Jones knows what is required to silence Charlton Athletic doubters

Jones is a manager with extreme amounts of self-belief, and that energy has so often spread into his squad at the Valley and, famously, during two stints at Luton Town in particular, during which the Hatters were perceived as extreme underdogs to many of their divisional counterparts.

Given the budget limitations, echoed by the fact that Charlton had a lower wage bill than two of the sides relegated to League Two last season, Jones and his recruitment team will have to be extremely savvy in the market, especially when it comes to sourcing the required quality at the top end of the pitch.

Only Matty Godden reached double-figure goals last season, with an overall tally of 67 goals spread vastly throughout the squad.

It will be intriguing to see how many of the current crop are capable of making the step-up, with plenty of focus bound to be on the likes of Tyreece Campbell and Lloyd Jones.

But, there's no denying that further quality will be needed in order to follow in the footsteps of the previous six sides promoted from League One, all of whom survived in the following campaign.