Charlton Athletic man has 'definitely underwhelmed' - Nathan Jones offered transfer advice involving Stockport County | OneFootball

FLW's Charlton Athletic fan pundit has given his verdict on Tanto Olaofe's future

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…

Isaac Olaofe has struggled for consistent game time with Charlton Athletic since joining in the summer.

This has led to speculation regarding a potential move away from the Valley in the final days of the January transfer window.

According to Darren Witcoop, Stockport County are interested in signing the forward in order to bolster their bid to gain promotion from League One.

Olaofe has featured 22 times in Nathan Jones’ side in the Championship this season, but has only started on six occasions.

The 26-year-old was reportedly signed for £1.5 million last summer, but he has contributed just one goal and one assist in the league since then.

Tanto Olaofe loan in January makes sense for all parties

When asked about Olaofe’s future with the club amid interest from Stockport, FLW’s Charlton fan pundit Chris Woodward claimed that he just hasn’t shown enough quality to prove himself at a second division level this season.

However, he feels the 26-year-old is a long-term project, so it is too soon to give up on him completely, meaning a loan move to League One could make the most sense for everyone for now.

“Tanto has definitely underwhelmed since we brought him in this summer,” Woodward told Football League World.

“Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he’s had limited opportunities but, from what we have seen from him, he doesn’t really have the technical ability, finishing or footballing IQ for the Championship.

“In League One, where the football is predominantly based on the physical side of the game, there’s no wonder Tanto thrives with his pace and power.

“But the step up to the Championship, in regards to quality and ruthlessness forwards need in front of goal, Tanto has not been able to match that.

“With us having five or six forwards to pick from, Tanto isn’t likely to get game time, and it makes no sense keeping him on the bench, or not even in the squad, for the rest of the season.

“He was brought in as a project to develop, so I wouldn’t give up on him permanently just yet, but a loan back to League One makes a lot of sense and then re-assess what we do with him moving forward in the summer, depending on how he performs.”

Olaofe signed a three year contract with Charlton last summer when he joined from Stockport, with the option for a further 12 months included in the agreement.

The forward was an important part of Dave Challinor’s side prior to his move to the London outfit, scoring 30 goals from 103 appearances across three league campaigns.

However, he has struggled to maintain that level with the step up to the second tier, and he has gradually fallen down the pecking order of Jones’ squad.

The clubs have until 2 February to conclude any remaining transfer business before the market shuts for the rest of the season.

Tanto Olaofe loan would be a good move for all parties

Olaofe’s game time at Charlton will be limited in the second half of the season unless he can drastically turn around his form.

So a loan move back to Stockport might make a lot of sense for now, especially as it’s a place that he knows well and has previously performed well there.

If he can recapture his best days, then there could still be room for him to make an impact with the Addicks.

Either way, being able to reassess where he stands in the summer will be a lot easier if he’s had six months of regular game time under his belt, instead of not even being included in matchdays squads.