Recent history suggests Charlton Athletic would be right to have Alfie May, Birmingham City fear: View | OneFootball

Birmingham City striker Alfie May is set to return to The Valley on Saturday following his move away from Charlton Athletic during the summer.

Charlton Athletic sold striker Alfie May to Birmingham City during the summer transfer window, and he will return to SE7 when the two sides meet in League One this weekend.

May left Charlton during the summer transfer window after winning the Golden Boot in the third tier last season, and he has picked up where he left off for his new club with four goals in seven League One appearances so far.

The 31-year-old came off the bench during the Blues' Carabao Cup victory at The Valley in August, but he will surely be hoping to appear in the starting eleven on Saturday.

He ranks second in League One for the most goals per 90 minutes so far during the 2024/25 campaign, highlighting the threat he has posed already this term.

Birmingham boss Chris Davies opted to play Lyndon Dykes and Jay Stansfield up front instead of May against Rotherham United at the weekend, although he later revealed that illness played a part in his decision to start the prolific striker on the bench.

The physical presence of Dykes may be more effective for Birmingham against Charlton, who will likely have Lloyd Jones and Alex Mitchell in their starting lineup, although May will no doubt want to be given the opportunity to impress against his former club, and recent history suggests that he may well do so.

Charlton Athletic have been haunted by former players in recent times

Albie Morgan's goal during Blackpool's victory in the latest League One game at The Valley continued a recent trend that has seen several former Charlton players find the back of the net against the Addicks.

Since the beginning of last season, Charlton supporters have regularly been haunted by players they used to watch play for their team.

Former Charlton loanee Scott Sinclair started the streak when he opened the scoring for Bristol Rovers in their win at The Valley last season, before Jayden Stockley netted for Fleetwood Town in the same game that May scored his first goals at home for the Addicks.

Carlisle United defender Sam Lavelle's equaliser against Charlton at Brunton Park served as a reminder of his unsuccessful spell in SE7, prior to Reeco Hackett-Fairchild getting on the scoresheet for Lincoln City when the Addicks were held to a draw by the Imps in Nathan Jones' first home game in charge.

Ben Purrington, who memorably scored for Charlton in the 2018/19 League One play-off final, scored against his former club for Exeter City in March, a couple of weeks before Macauley Bonne equalised for Cambridge United against the Addicks.

It would not be a huge surprise to see May become the next former player to score against Charlton, but their supporters will hope that his celebration is slightly more muted than Morgan and Bonne's were if he does manage to find the net.

Alfie May has scored against Charlton Athletic before

May has caused Charlton's defence problems in the past, as he scored twice against them during the 2022/23 campaign, the season before he signed for the Addicks.

He took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray to score the winner at The Valley in December 2022, and also scored a late equaliser in Cheltenham Town's 2-2 draw with the Addicks on the final day of that season, in his last game for the Robins.

It will be interesting to see what kind of reception Charlton supporters give a player who was vitally important and always worked hard for the club, but they will hope he isn't able to have the joy in front of goal that they often saw him have last season.