Reaction given to Harvey Knibbs situation at Charlton Athletic - "It's safe to say" | OneFootball

FLW's Addicks Fan Pundit makes a clear admission on ex-Reading FC and Cambridge man Harvey Knibbs

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

There is confidence that Charlton Athletic summer signing Harvey Knibbs will eventually prove his worth at The Valley after not having a fair crack under Nathan Jones so far this season.

Knibbs has made all but one of his league outings off the bench - and his first start against Hull City lasted just 53 minutes before being substituted.

The 26-year-old has been unable to replace the impressive Sonny Carey from the attacking midfield role, with his fellow summer arrival enjoying a stellar start to life in SE7 after scoring four league goals.

"Delayed pre-season" partly to blame for Harvey Knibbs' lack of minutes at Charlton Athletic

FLW’s Charlton Athletic Fan Pundit, Chris Woodward, explained that Knibbs' difficult beginning at Charlton stems largely from circumstances beyond his control.

"Harvey Knibbs is a strange one. When we bought him from Reading in the summer he was expected to come straight into the starting eleven as an attacking midfielder in our 3-4-1-2 or 3-5-2 system, however you look at it," Woodward told FLW.

"He was arguably going to be our most exciting signing in the summer transfer window based on what we expected of him and obviously his overall quality from both Reading and Cambridge," he added.

Knibbs had been Reading's top scorer in back-to-back seasons, netting 16 goals in all competitions during the 24/25 campaign after scoring the same tally the previous year.

His record of 25 league goals across 88 matches for the Royals had caught the attention of several Championship clubs, with Portsmouth, Derby County and Oxford United all reportedly linked before the Addicks secured his signature.

Woodward also noted that Knibbs "came in with a delayed pre-season due to lengthy transfer negotiations with Reading and he finished the previous season with a minor injury, so he wasn’t fit enough to be starting games right from the beginning of the season".

Sonny Carey has been Nathan Jones' preferred choice to Harvey Knibbs

Woodward then mentioned how the issue with Knibbs not starting the season, "is that his replacement, or the person who’s been filling that position, Sonny Carey, has probably been our player of the year so far this season."

"We experimented against Hull, we played both Knibbs and Carey, but it just turned out to be too attacking and it just upset the balance in midfield, and we really didn’t get back into that game until we took Knibbs off to bring on a more defensive-minded midfielder," Woodward continued.

Carey was named the south-east London club's Player of the Month for September after scoring in back-to-back home fixtures against Millwall and Blackburn Rovers, claiming 44% of supporters' votes.

His thunderous strikes from distance have earned him the nickname "the ginger genius" from Jones, with the Welshman admitting he could hardly believe Carey attempted the shot that flew into the net against Blackburn.

"Glimpses of quality" suggest Harvey Knibbs can "still turn out to be another good signing"

Despite his limited opportunities, Knibbs has demonstrated flashes of the ability that persuaded Jones to pursue him throughout the summer - he scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Watford on the opening day of the season.

"Knibbs has shown glimpses of quality in his cameo appearances with the goal at Watford, obviously the vital flick-on for the winner at Sheffield United, and other bits here and there, but the way with how Carey’s been playing, it feels like Knibbs is going to have to score a hat-trick if he’s going to make the starting lineup at this rate," Woodward said.

Those contributions do show, though, that Knibbs possesses the quality to make a difference at Championship level, even if opportunities have been scarce at the minute.

"It’s safe to say Knibbs hasn’t exactly hit the ground running, but he hasn’t really been given a fair crack at consistent football to be honest, to build his fitness and sharpness.

"It’s clear from his time at Reading and Cambridge he’s a very good player, he can score goals, and he fits that sort of role and the mould of an attacking midfielder Nathan Jones wants in his system," Woodward continued.

But while Knibbs may be frustrated by his lack of regular action, our Fan Pundit believes that patience will prove key in allowing the midfielder to demonstrate his capabilities.

"If Carey drops off form or gets injured and Knibbs starts to get more consistent minutes, I’m more than confident he’ll find his rhythm and turn out to be another good signing from the club, especially for £1.8m, which in today’s market isn’t an obscene amount of money for a quality Championship level midfielder," Woodward concluded.