Charlton Athletic have a Miles Leaburn, Daniel Kanu successor in waiting: View | OneFootball

While things haven’t always been straightforward for Charlton Athletic in recent history, the club do have a lot to boast about when it comes to producing top talent from their academy in recent seasons.

Both Daniel Kanu and Miles Leaburn have proved themselves to be handy operators for the Addicks after breaking into the first team in recent seasons, with the pair racking up over 100 appearances between them already in their fledgling careers.

The pair join an esteemed list of players who have made their way up through the ranks for Charlton, with Premier League stars such as Ezri Konsa, Harry Arter and Jonjo Shelvey all starting their careers in South East London.

And just recently we have witnessed the latest starlet to come off the conveyor belt, with Patrick Casey already proving himself to have an eye for goal much like his predecessors, and looks set for a promising career ahead.

Charlton Athletic academy graduate Patrick Casey goalscoring record

Listed in the Evening Standard’s recent report on outstanding young products coming out of London, Casey has already been tipped for big things after shining for Charlton’s youth sides over the past couple of seasons.

With 42 goals for the under-18 side last season, the teenage talent continued his good form into the current campaign with over 30 more strikes finding the back of the net; form which earned him the briefest of cameos in the first team at the start of the year.

That three-minute appearance for the first team in a 2-1 defeat to Oxford United on New Year’s Day will only whet the appetite of the 19-year-old, who has the perfect people to look up to in fellow academy stars Kanu and Leaburn.

The former has become something of a regular in the Addicks side this season; having returned from a loan spell with National League side Southend United with a point to prove from December onwards.

An eleven-goal return is what he has to show for his efforts for his two clubs this season, with three goals in his first four matches of the season followed up with four more strikes for his parent club since the turn of the year.

With Nathan Jones at the helm, Kanu is getting the chance to lead the line for Charlton and is repaying that faith with numerous standout displays, something that will only hearten Casey as he watches from the sidelines waiting for his opportunity.

Leaburn was enjoying a similar spell up top for the Addicks before a nasty hamstring injury sustained in December has seen him yet to return to fitness, with his side missing his ability to find the net on a regular basis when he is in the starting lineup.

In Jones, Casey will have the perfect boss to guide him into the first team when his time comes, with the former Southampton manager evidently delighted with the young talents he has at his disposal.

The Welshman’s passion for the game and desire to get the best out of all his players will only stand the young striker in good stead for the rest of his career, and the boss knows just how strong the current crop of younger players is at Charlton.

“We have a lot of players here with the potential to be very, very good,” Jones [pictured] told the South London Press last month.

“Superstars is a big word and I don’t want to use it flippantly – but I am a big believer you can be anything you want if you apply yourself, work hard, have the focus and then the right structure and right people who want to guide and help you.

“If you take that on board and go again then people can be anything they want to be.

“I’ve not just come here to build a football club – I want to change peoples’ lives here as well.”

Karoy Anderson is another young star to be given his opportunity in the first team this season, which makes the prospect of Casey getting the chance to shine as the Addicks’ season comes to a close even more likely.

With ten points separating themselves and the drop zone with a handful of games remaining, their League One status is all but secure, meaning Jones will sure look to utilise the whole of his squad in the last few fixtures and give even more youngsters the chance to shine on the highest stage.

Patrick Casey transfer interest, contract information

A number of clubs are already said to be tracking the teenager’s progress, with Celtic and Brighton and Hove Albion among the sides keeping tabs on the striker.

Belgian duo Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and Club Brugge have also reportedly sent scouts to monitor the forward’s progress, with the striker’s goalscoring record earning him admirers from across the continent.

Having penned a three-year-deal with the Addicks last summer, Charlton fans will breathe easy knowing their young talent is tied down to the club for the foreseeable future, with his contract running until the summer of 2026.

With a whole host of academy graduates making their way into Jones’ first-team plans, there are few better places to be as a young player learning their trade than Charlton at the minute, with opportunities happily handed out to those deemed good enough to earn themselves a start.

By all accounts, it is only a matter of time before we see Casey given a chance to prove himself as part of the Addicks’ frontline, and with his knack for finding the net so regularly you can only imagine there will be exciting times ahead at The Valley once he gets given a chance to shine.