Man Utd deal should be on Charlton Athletic's radar to fill Miles Leaburn void: View | OneFootball

Michael Appleton will be hoping the Charlton Athletic board backs him in this January transfer window.

This is the first chance that Appleton has had to make changes to the personal squad at the Valley.

The former Lincoln City and Blackpool manager took over a side that was very busy during the summer transfer window, as they brought in 11 new players.

However, the changes in terms of playing squad haven’t had the desired effect on the pitch, as the Addicks still sit someway off the play-off places.

So, the Charlton boss will want to close the gap, and he may see bringing in more quality as a good step towards doing just that.

While he will be looking to improve the overall squad, Appleton is likely going to be on the lookout for a striker, as the club suffered a blow when it comes to Miles Leaburn.

Charlton Athletic’s Miles Leaburn suffers injury blow

Miles Leaburn came through the academy at Charlton and broke onto the scene in the first team last season, appearing 40 times, during which he scored 12 goals.

He continued to be an important player once again this season, starting nine of the 13 games he was available for, and he added to his tally with three goals and two assists.

It looked like it was going to be another impressive campaign for the 20-year-old, but he suffered an injury in the 2-1 win over Cheltenham Town.

It was later confirmed by the club on their official website, that Leaburn had injured his hamstring and had to go undergo surgery that was successful but will rule him out up to five months of the season.

This is a bitter blow to the Addicks, as he and Alfie May were forming a decent partnership, but it now means Charlton are short in the attacking area and are relying heavily on May.

This will likely be something that Appleton will want to address, and given how funds may not be significantly there for him, the League One side may be wise in looking at Manchester United and trying to sign forward Joe Hugill.

Charlton Athletic should turn to Man United’s Joe Hugill to replace Miles Leaburn

Charlton are not unfamiliar with working with Premier League sides and taking some of their younger talents on loan.

So, with Leaburn being out for potentially the rest of the season, the Addicks may need to look at their contacts once again, and a perfect replacement could be Manchester United’s Joe Hugill.

Hugill started his career in Sunderland’s academy but moved to Man United in 2020 and has since been working his way up their youth system.

The 20-year-old has been catching attention in academy football, as he’s netted goals on a consistent basis. In the 2020/21 season, Hugill scored 10 goals in 18 Premier League 2 appearances, but only 11 of those appearances came as starts.

As well as his 10 goals, Hugill grabbed two assists, as he really broke onto the scene at Old Trafford. That season, the forward was averaging 0.80 goals per 90 minutes, with an assist coming 0.16 times per 90 minutes, as per Fbref.com.

During this campaign, Hugill played three times for Man United in the EFL Trophy, and he scored one goal. That meant he had a scoring frequency of 261 minutes and averaged a goal 0.3 times per game, with him having one shot per game. Furthermore, Hugill had a goal conversion rate of 33% in the competition and collected 0.3 key passes, as per SofaScore.com.

It has been confirmed that the forward has signed a new contract, extending his stay at Old Trafford until the summer of 2026. According to The Athletic, Hugill is now likely going to be sent out on loan by Man United, with League One and Two clubs interested.

This news should have Charlton interested, as the forward is very similar to that of Leaburn. Hugill is a direct, physical presence that will put himself about at the top end of the pitch and is also capable of chipping in with goals.