Charlton Athletic launch 6-figure transfer bid for Blackburn Rovers player | OneFootball

The Addicks have fended off strong competition in the race for Rankin-Costello

Charlton Athletic are lodging a six-figure bid to sign Joe Rankin-Costello from Championship rivals, Blackburn Rovers.

That is according to an update from journalist Alan Nixon via Patreon, with the Addicks said to have fended off bids from other clubs for the versatile 25-year-old as Nathan Jones looks to continue bolstering his squad after promotion from League One via the play-off final.

Charlton have been one of the most active clubs in the division when it comes to transfer activity thus far, with five new additions moving to the Valley as Jones continues his pre-season preparations, with the majority of such incomings providing a wealth of Championship experience.

Rankin-Costello is a name who also falls into said bracket, and after finding his gametime with Blackburn extremely limited in the final months of the 2024/25 campaign under John Eustace and, latterly, Valerien Ismael, an exit from the Ewood Park club is set to be sanctioned.

Charlton Athletic lodge six-figure bid for Blackburn Rovers' Joe Rankin-Costello

The Stockport-born man - who is capable of featuring in an array of positions across the park - has made 132 appearances for Blackburn since making his first-team breakthrough in an EFL Cup defeat against Sheffield United in August 2019, with 32 of those coming last season as the East Lancashire outfit narrowly missed out on a place in the top six on the final day.

However, only 13 of his 29 Championship appearances were from the starting lineup, with Ismael, who was appointed in February, omitting Rankin-Costello initially from his starting squad after a 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday on April 8th, before he wasn't involved in the entire matchday squad for the final two games of the campaign against Watford and Sheffield United.

Despite the Frenchman previously stating that the versatile figure's future at Ewood Park wasn't over, Nixon's aforementioned report states that he has paved the way for Rankin-Costello's departure ahead of the new season, with the Addicks lodging a £750,000 bid for his signature.

Whilst no clubs have been named within the update, it has been claimed that the South London outfit have won the race amid rival bids, with Jones believed to see his experience as a "major asset" heading into a season in which consolidating back in the Championship for the first time since 2020 is the number one priority.

Rankin-Costello's current deal in the North West expires at the end of the 2026/27 season, having penned a four-year contract with Rovers in the summer of 2023 following an extremely impressive run in the side under former boss, Jon Dahl Tomasson.

Joe Rankin-Costello transfer move adds to Charlton Athletic's already impressive activity

Many had tipped the Addicks for a season of struggle following their promotion after defeating Leyton Orient at Wembley Stadium in May. However, the transfer activity in this part of the capital thus far may give plenty of outsiders some food for thought before fully hedging their bets.

Charlton's defensive record in League One was extremely admirable, conceding just 43 times in 46 regular-season games, and those ranks have since been bolstered with a triple raid from newly-relegated Luton Town in the form of Thomas Kaminski, Reece Burke and Amari'i Bell, with two of those already familar with Jones' methods, whilst the Belgian shot-stopper will also add some form of familiarity with Rankin-Costello as his move edges ever-closer.

According to Capology, his ESTIMATED wage at Ewood Park is £8,500 per week. Whilst it remains to be seen if that remains the same or drops in South London, it represents a bargain transfer with the player able to cover several bases, which will come in extremely useful during periods of fixture congestion or a potential injury crisis.