Charlton Athletic "concern" raised amid Ipswich Town, Gassan Ahadme interest | OneFootball

The Addicks are said to be monitoring the Moroccan forward, who scored 11 goals in League One for Cambridge United last season

Ipswich Town striker Gassan Ahadme is a player said to be attracting plenty of interest this summer, with Charlton Athletic one of the sides said to be keeping tabs on the Moroccan.

With the Tractor Boys earning Premier League promotion in the last campaign, Kieran McKenna will be looking to offload those on the fringes of the squad this summer, with the 2022 recruit yet to start a league match for the Suffolk side.

Instead, the 23-year-old has been shipped out to various League One teams over the past two seasons, with a return to Burton Albion followed by an eye-catching campaign at Cambridge United over the past 12 months.

With 13 goals in 33 games in all competitions for the U’s in his time at The Abbey, the Town loanee has proven himself more than capable of excelling in the third tier, with the Addicks hoping to pounce this summer.

Ipswich Town star Gassan Ahadme attracting Charlton Athletic interest

Ahadme has had something of a nomadic career to date, with his spell with Cambridge making it five clubs represented during the early stages of his footballing days.

After starting out at Norwich City, the forward had a brief loan spell at Portsmouth in 2021, before making a permanent move to Burton Albion, where he rose to prominence with six goals in 20 games for the Brewers.

That performance was enough for Ipswich to snap him up just eight months later, although the East Anglian outfit never made the most of his talents, with the striker getting on the pitch just six times in league matches.

Instead, Ahadme returned to Burton in the second half of the 22/23 campaign, before getting back to his best with a season with Cambridge, where he fired the U’s to safety, despite missing three months of the campaign due to injury.

That sort of form has alerted the Addicks this summer, with Nathan Jones looking to build a squad worthy of pushing for promotion this season, and FLW's Addicks fan pundit, Ben Fleming likes the sound of what he is hearing.

Fleming said: “13 goals is obviously a decent return at the level, and he’s clearly a bigger, slightly more physical striker than Alfie May, and we like to have a more physical striker to play alongside him.

“From what I’ve read and hear from people, they’ve all seemed to like him. There’s plenty of interest in him, with Wigan linked as well, and if other clubs are sniffing around that’s normally a good sign.

“In terms of a fee it’s difficult to know, it can go one of two ways; the money that Ipswich will get in the Premier League might make them willing to let him go for cheaper, or they may think they might as well try to drive a hard bargain.

“I think it might be the former and they are willing to let him go on the cheap to get him off the wage bill, but you never know.”

Nathan Jones Charlton Athletic rebuild continues ahead of League One campaign

There is no question that a player of Ahadme’s quality would benefit most League One outfits in the upcoming campaign, with his physicality in the final third likely to complement that of Alfie May.

The former Cheltenham Town man was the division’s top scorer in the previous campaign with 23 strikes to his name, and with a bustling centre forward alongside him in the shape of Ahadme, the Addicks could have a strike partnership ready to strike fear into any third tier side next season.

Athletic boss Jones [pictured] has been vocal about his need for autonomy when deciding his squad for the season ahead, and that is something that plays on the mind of Fleming when considering the Ahadme deal.

He continued: “I think the only slight concern is that there were reports we were interested in him in January, which might suggest it is someone that the board is interested in rather than Nathan Jones.

“The way Nathan Jones wants to manage teams is obviously quite hands on, so I’d be quite to make sure that any signing is someone that he and his scouting team have personally sourced, or is one that he has rubber-stamped as is keen on, not someone the board have just picked out.

“As long as he is happy with it, he’ll be a good addition, but it’s all about getting the fee right. We don’t want to be spending silly amounts of money, but he’s clearly a good operator at the level and could clearly work well in rotation with other strikers that we have.”

After Freddie Ladapo’s loan spell came to an end, Jones will be looking for a replacement for the big man up top, and Ahadme fits the bill perfectly, with his power and pace exactly what Jones looks for in his striking personnel.

With the likes of Miles Leaburn, Daniel Kanu and Chuks Aneke all also fighting for a place in the starting lineup, the south London side could well have one of the finest group of forwards in the third tier next season if they make Ahadme theirs.