Stevenage set to beat Bolton Wanderers to Charlton Athletic player | OneFootball

Stevenage are reportedly closing in on the signing of Charlton Athletic striker Gassan Ahadme.

Stevenage are reportedly set to beat League One rivals Bolton Wanderers to the signing of Charlton Athletic striker Gassan Ahadme.

After a prolific loan spell at Cambridge United in the 2023-24 season, during which he scored 13 goals in 33 appearances, Ahadme joined Charlton from Ipswich Town last summer.

Ahadme began last season as the Addicks' first choice striker, but he fell out of favour over the course of the campaign, and he was left out of the squad for all three play-off games as Nathan Jones' men won promotion back to the Championship.

The 24-year-old ended his first year at The Valley with just four goals and one assist in 23 appearances, and it seems he has again been deemed surplus to requirements this season after he was omitted from the squad for both the opening league game against Watford on Saturday and the EFL Cup tie against Stevenage on Tuesday night.

Stevenage set to win Gassan Ahadme transfer race ahead of Bolton Wanderers

Ahadme has been linked with League One promotion hopefuls Bolton throughout the summer, but according to journalist Alan Nixon on Thursday evening, he is now set to complete a loan move to Stevenage.

After losing last season's 19-goal top scorer Aaron Collins to League Two side MK Dons, Bolton head coach Steven Schumacher has made no secret of his desire to bolster his forward line, particularly after summer signing Sam Dalby suffered a hamstring injury that has caused him to miss the start of the new season.

It was claimed earlier in the summer that the Trotters had agreed a fee for Ahadme, and just as the deal appeared to be stalling, Nixon reported last week that the Lancashire outfit were preparing to reignite their interest in the Charlton striker, with a potential loan deal in their sights.

However, in a fresh update, Nixon has revealed that Wanderers' failure to commit to signing Ahadme has opened the door for Stevenage to swoop, and he is now set to make a temporary switch to the Lamex Stadium.

Ahadme will become Boro's tenth signing of a busy summer transfer window that has seen the likes of Jordan Houghton, Chem Campbell, Pheonix Patterson and Jovan Malcolm join the club, and he will link up with a side who currently sit fifth in the League One table after impressive victories over Blackpool and Rotherham United in their opening two games.

After missing out on Ahadme, Bolton will now need to turn their attention to other targets, but they could also face frustration in their pursuit of Celtic striker Johnny Kenny, given that he's recently signed a new long-term contract with the Glaswegian giants.

Having publicly expressed his desire to add more firepower to his squad, Schumacher will be disappointed to lose out on Ahadme.

Particularly to a team in Stevenage who could be a potential promotion rival this season after their strong start to the campaign.

However, Ahadme's goalscoring record at Charlton does not make for good reading, while he also struggled to deliver during his time at Ipswich and Portsmouth respectively, so there are question marks over whether he would have been an upgrade on Schumacher's existing options.

Ahadme could rediscover his form at Stevenage under a manager in Alex Revell who has consistently got the best out of his squad, despite working on a limited budget, but Bolton may have dodged a bullet by missing out on his signature.