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Charlton Athletic could face a battle to hold on to striker Miles Leaburn in the January transfer window.

Leaburn enjoyed an outstanding breakthrough season at The Valley last term, scoring 13 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions.

The 19-year-old missed the start of the campaign with an ankle injury, but he has been in fine form since his return, netting six goals and providing one assist in nine appearances.

Leaburn was on the scoresheet once again in the Addicks' 4-0 home win over struggling Reading on Saturday, further underlining his value to the team.

The striker has been key to Charlton's strong start under new manager Michael Appleton which has seen them pick up 12 points in their last six league games to move up to 10th in the League One table, just four points from the play-off places.

What is the latest on Miles Leaburn's Charlton Athletic future?

Leaburn's impressive form last season did not go unnoticed, and according to The Sun, Aston Villa were among a number of Premier League clubs considering a move for him this summer.

After Leaburn's latest contribution for Charlton on Saturday, Appleton admitted that he is braced for interest in the striker in January.

When asked if he expects bigger clubs to be keeping tabs on Leaburn, Appleton told the South London Press: "I’m sure that’s the case.

"Obviously it isn’t that we don’t welcome that, because ultimately as a football club you want to have the best players – or potentially the best players – in the league. With that comes interest from bigger clubs.

"From our point of view we see it as a positive because he is our player and we get to decide what we do with him.

"It wasn’t just his goal. He was real value in terms of his performance as well. He made Button make a big, big save just before he scored his goal as well. The pass from TC in the build-up to it wasn’t unnoticed.

"He’s put the burners on as well because Nelson Abbey, for them, was outstanding today. Time and time again he was the one, if we looked dangerous and like we’d get in, thwarted us a little bit. For him to get in behind him was impressive."

Should Charlton Athletic sell Miles Leaburn in January?

Charlton are no stranger to selling their exciting young talent to bigger clubs, but they should be cautious about sanctioning Leaburn's exit in the upcoming window.

The Addicks sold striker Mason Burstow to Chelsea in February 2022, and the 20-year-old is currently thriving on loan at Sunderland in the Championship, while he made his debut for England U20s during the recent international break.

Given Leaburn's excellent goalscoring record, he arguably has even more potential than Burstow, and with the Addicks closing in on the top six, his exit could be incredibly damaging to their promotion hopes.

Charlton do have another prolific scorer on their books in the form of Alfie May, who has scored eight goals in 13 appearances since his move from Cheltenham Town this summer, but the partnership of May and Leaburn could fire Appleton's men to promotion.

It remains to be seen whether any Premier League clubs will make a move for Leaburn in January, but the Addicks should resist the temptation to cash in on the striker just yet, and his transfer value will only increase as he continues to score goals in League One.