The ‘terrific’ Charlton Athletic star who will hate what Nathan Jones has just done | OneFootball

Karlan Grant's return to Charlton Athletic has surely reduced opportunities for Tyreece Campbell

Charlton Athletic have announced the return of academy graduate Karlan Grant in a bid to bolster their forward options heading into their second season back in the Championship.

The Addicks were amongst the lowest-scoring sides in the division last season, netting just 44 times across 46 league games. Only Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday netted fewer.

And despite being incredibly valiant at times last year, the expectations at the Valley heading into the 2026/27 campaign will be to avoid relegation once more, given the perceived strength of the division across the board and the raising of the floor, so to speak, ahead of what looks like a more competitive edge towards the table's lower echelons.

After a summer window last year which saw quite a few high-end League One stars being brought in, Charlton have begun this window by bringing in some more established second-tier options. In Grant, they have someone with just shy of 250 Championship appearances.

The 28-year-old is someone who knows the club well, too, having come through the academy and scoring 14 times in 28 League One games in the 2018/19 campaign, earning a mid-season switch to then-Premier League side Huddersfield Town.

He's had a couple of high double-digit scoring campaigns in the Championship for both the Terriers and then at West Brom, who signed him for £15 million in 2020, but it's been a very long time since he showed signs of being a player worth eight figures. If Charlton can help him rediscover that, he could help them stave off relegation next season.

Tyreece Campbell may find minutes harder to come by after Karlan Grant arrival

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There's plenty of excitement at Charlton following Grant's return, as the 28-year-old could perhaps rediscover his early-career form in front of goal back where that career started, but one man who won't be happy with the news will be fellow academy graduate, Tyreece Campbell.

Grant's spent the last few years alternating between playing as a central striker or off the left. Last season, Nathan Jones operated mainly with wing backs, so if the Addicks boss remains with that play style heading into next season, the returning 28-year-old will definitely be earmarked for a striker role.

Therefore, Campbell, who had his minutes reduced in January when Lyndon Dykes signed from Birmingham City (10 of his 31 league starts came after the Scottish frontman arrived), may find his game time reduced even further next season.

Campbell, like Grant, came through the youth system at the Valley and became a regular starter under Nathan Jones during the Addicks' time in League One. In their promotion campaign a couple of years ago, he played all but two games, starting 40 of them, including the three play-off outings.

Before that season, Campbell signed a new contract, keeping him at the club for another two years. That was extended by an extra year by the club this summer. After signing the deal, Addicks manager Nathan Jones labelled the then-20-year-old a "terrific young player with pace, skill and fantastic one-v-one ability."

It may be difficult for the 22-year-old to showcase that ability as consistently as he'd like to next season, especially with another left-sided wide-man now at the club.

The 2026/27 campaign is massive for Tyreece Campbell as he enters the final year of his contract

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The 2024/25 campaign has been, by far, the best of Campbell's career thus far, as Nathan Jones opted for a back four for the majority of the League One term, allowing the winger to get at his full-back and showcase the one-v-one ability that the Welsh boss alluded to before that season.

However, since the Addicks got promoted to the Championship, a mixture of the step up in level and the fact that Jones has had to adopt a wing-back system as Charlton dealt with the pressures of being a newly-promoted side have led Campbell to lose his way somewhat.

The Jamaican international isn't suited to wing-back, and especially in the second half of the season, when Luke Chambers arrived on loan, he found himself playing up front or just behind the striker, out of position.

Ultimately, he wasn't showing enough while he was a regular starter in the opening stages of the recent campaign to prove that he deserves to be the first name on the teamsheet, so it's not a surprise that Charlton have gone and brought in more firepower in the frontline this summer.

Now, that means Campbell has even less opportunity to show why he deserves to be part of the Addicks side in the Championship in what is set to be a very important campaign, as he enters the final year of his current contract.

The academy man will now be fighting not only for his place in the team, but for a new contract at the end of the season. Perhaps that could prove to be a good thing for Charlton, as they'll need more than just the five goal involvements from Campbell next season if they are to avoid a relegation battle.