Nathan Jones told to axe £1m Charlton Athletic player who hasn’t ‘earned his wages’ | OneFootball

FLW's Addicks Fan Pundit thinks Belgian goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski should be sold this summer

Nathan Jones has been sent a clear transfer message ahead of what will be an important summer window for Charlton Athletic.

This comes after Belgian goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski endured a largely underwhelming first season at The Valley, having arrived in south-east London for a reported fee of £1m from Luton Town last July.

Just a few years ago, Kaminski had been a mainstay in the Premier League during the Hatters' 23/24 top-flight campaign, starting every single league game and winning the save of the season.

Which is perhaps why, according to Capology estimates, the 33-year-old earns in the region of £20k per week at Charlton, making him the highest-earning player at the club going into next season.

But after a campaign that was meant to show his quality has instead prompted questions about whether he should be sold.

Nathan Jones told to axe Thomas Kaminski at Charlton Athletic

FLW’s Charlton Fan Pundit, Chris Woodward, has made clear his view that the goalkeeper simply has not done enough to justify his wages, and that moving him on would be the right thing to do.

"It's safe to say Kaminski has had a very disappointing season considering the expectations he came into the year with," Woodward told FLW.

"Although Kaminski’s not been terrible, he’s definitely not earned his wages as being our top-earning player, and has often been protected very well by a solid defence in front of him."

The numbers for Kaminski’s season at least offer some perspective. As per FotMob data, the ex-Blackburn Rovers man made 37 appearances across the 25/26 Championship season, recording 11 clean sheets and conceding 49 goals.

For the 'Goals Prevented' metric, he registered a figure of -6.34, meaning that, on average, the Addicks conceded a lot more than they should have done when Kaminski was in net. It was by far one of the worst scores in the league compared to other keepers.

It is also worth noting that Kaminski was directly responsible for at least two errors that led to goals across the league season, with one being shown in the above video.

Woodward added, "Although we have bigger concerns within the rest of our squad, being at wing-back and in midfield, if there’s a chance that we can upgrade Kaminski I would definitely be interested in looking into it."

Thomas Kaminski is "too expensive" for Charlton Athletic

What makes this potential situation complicated for Charlton, though, is the length of Kaminski’s contract. Woodward concluded with, "He’s too expensive to be sat on the bench, so we would need to get rid of him.

"Considering [Will] Mannion - our back-up goalkeeper - has often pushed him this season, it’s safe to say the gap in quality isn’t as big as it should be."

To add some more context, Kaminski signed a three-year deal upon his arrival and, as already mentioned, he is set to be the club’s highest-earning player heading into next season.

Along with this, the £1m transfer fee that was paid to bring him in would also mean the club would be at a loss if they chose to just keep him as a backup option.

In Mannion’s nine league appearances, the 28-year-old kept two clean sheets, which helped the Addicks claim 1–0 wins over Birmingham City and Middlesbrough.

So, for Jones, any summer decisions around the goalkeeping department may be among the most important he faces in the transfer window.

Finding a possible buyer for Kaminski will probably not be straightforward given his wages and contract length, but Woodward’s argument is that the club need to do it.