"One of the top priorities" - Charlton Athletic fan pundit urges Addicks to sort contract situation | OneFootball

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…

Charlton Athletic's new era began nearly two weeks ago when Michael Appleton took charge as head coach for the very first time, and with four points picked up since then against Stevenage and Wycombe Wanderers, the future could be bright at The Valley.

Appleton replaced Dean Holden in the dugout, with the latter being sacked following a poor start to the 2023-24 League One season, and one player who looks like he's going to be central to the new boss' plans is Corey Blackett-Taylor.

Blackett-Taylor scored eight times in League One for the Londoners last season, and this season he has already notched two goals and three assists, with both goals coming under Appleton.

What is Corey Blackett-Taylor's contract situation with Charlton Athletic?

When signing for Charlton back in August 2021, Blackett-Taylor only penned a short-term deal until January 2022, with the club wanting to see what he could do in the third tier after playing for Tranmere Rovers in League Two previously.

After a few months though, the winger did enough to earn an extension until the summer of 2023, and a further one-year extension was triggered back in March to keep the 26-year-old for a further year until June 2024.

That is as far as the club have gotten though when it comes to Blackett-Taylor's contract, although they clearly do not want to lose the pacey wideman as they knocked back a late bid in the summer transfer window from League One rivals Derby County.

Should Charlton make tying down Corey Blackett-Taylor a priority?

FLW's Addicks fan pundit Ben Fleming believes that the new hierarchy at the club need to try and get Blackett-Taylor tied down to a longer contract as soon as they can, with a big season for the winger predicted.

"I definitely think he's got to be one of the top priorities in terms of renewing his contract," Ben said when speaking to Football League World.

"Him and Dobson are both up at the end of the season and they're two of our most influential players, so I think that's got to be the plan before January.

"He attracted some interest reportedly towards the back end of the summer window, so it would be good to try and get that nailed down alongside Dobson before January rolls around to try and fend off any interest.

"He's had a fantastic start to the season, I've always felt like if he can get a run of games in a system that he suits, he's always shown what he's capable of and now he's starting to deliver that on a consistent level.

"I think especially with the early look at the way Appleton wants to play with traditional wingers, his role in the team becomes even more vital because it's not exactly a position that we're stacked in - Holden was going to deploy a 3-5-2 and obviously he's gone and we're now going to line up with a back four and a couple of wingers.