Charlton Athletic are still laughing from £4m Bolton Wanderers deal | OneFootball

Charlton Athletic struck gold with the £4 million signing of former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Claus Jensen.

Back in the summer of 2000, Charlton Athletic launched an ambitious move to sign Danish midfielder Claus Jensen from Bolton Wanderers – and it turned out to be a real coup.

In the 1999/00 season, Charlton had just gained promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking, having won the second-tier under the management of Alan Curbishley.

The next few years would see Charlton establish themselves in the top-flight and the next four seasons in particular would see the Addicks record their two highest finishes in the top-flight; 9th in 2001 and then 7th in 2004.

Integral to both of those seasons and the south Londoners’ push for European football was Claus Jensen – a dynamic midfielder with a surprising level of effectiveness in the final third.

Jensen had arrived in England in 1998 and was a key man for Bolton for a couple of seasons, becoming a key man for the Trotters ahead of his move down to the capital city.

Claus Jensen immediately thrived at Charlton

Having signed for a team that required an added level of quality with the step up from the second-tier to the top-flight, Claus Jensen was under pressure.

Having arrived for a hefty £4 million from Bolton, a club-record fee at the time, only to be broken by the signing of Jason Euell a year later, Jensen became an instant fans’ favourite.

A driving force from the middle of the park, Jensen provided an assist on debut against Manchester City, setting the tone for his influence over the side.

Newly-promoted Charlton finished the season in ninth place with Jensen providing five goals and producing one assist in 37 starts as the fulcrum of a strong Charlton side punching above their weight.

It is no surprise really that the next couple of seasons did see Charlton dip from the heights of ninth at the same time that Jensen struggled with injury issues.

Injuries limited him to just 16 starts and two substitute appearances, albeit he did get himself fit for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, coming off the bench in their round of 16 loss to Denmark.

Six goals and four assists in 32 appearances in the 2002/03 was an improvement again for Jensen but perhaps his best season in a Charlton shirt was his last.

Claus Jensen left Charlton on a high

In the 2003/04 campaign, Charlton recorded their best ever league finish as they achieved seventh spot in the Premiership and flirted with European qualification throughout the campaign.

Central to that achievement was the dynamism and tenacity of Jensen, who would provide four goals and five assists again from the middle of the park.

This time, though, Curbishley had begun to use Jensen further forward as well as occasionally out on the left flank, with his technical ability offered more space in those positions.

Charlton were in a great spot in the second-half of the campaign to reach the UEFA Cup spots but managed a run of just thee wins in ten through the latter winter and spring – a run in which Jensen tried his best to turn things around with six direct goal involvements and some splendid performances, most notably against Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers.

After making over 100 appearances for the Addicks, Jensen departed Charlton in the summer of 2004 for their capital city rivals Fulham.

Jensen struggled at Craven Cottage, himself citing the long-ball tactics of Lawrie Sanchez not suiting his more technically gifted style of football.

Charlton needed to raise their level upon their return to the top-flight and Jensen was very much representative as the driving force behind that – and his £4 million fee eventually felt like a bargain.