Charlton Athletic could have reaped the rewards of 140-goal Watford FC star | OneFootball

The Addicks tried to sign the prolific striker before his move to Vicarage Road in the summer of 2010.

Charlton Athletic could have reaped the rewards of having Troy Deeney up-front for a number of years if they had been successful in their bid to sign him from Walsall in 2010.

The powerful striker made a name for himself between in the years prior to Charlton's interest, scoring 26 goals across two seasons for the Saddlers in the third tier of English football.

Deeney's form for Walsall led to him submitting a transfer request amid reported interest from the Championship, with Watford being one of the clubs linked with a move for him.

However, despite being in League One at the time, Charlton apparently came close to beating the Hornets to his signature.

Charlton Athletic could have beaten Watford to Troy Deeney signing

Deeney spoke about how close he came to joining Charlton on the Beast Mode On Podcast on Youtube.

"The year I left Walsall I was on £180-a-week," Deeney said.

"The most I could earn in a week was £350, but I'd have to start, we'd have to win, and I'd have to score four.

"Charlton were like the front-runners. I was meant to be in there, and they were going to offer me three grand (£3,000) a week.

"I was like, 3 x 52, that's real money. You know what it's like, you're already spending it.

"This is in the off-season, like mid-June. My agent at the time was like 'you are not signing that'. He was like 'Watford'.

"I had never really seen Watford or heard of Watford. I'd heard of Charlton. Blues played there in the Prem and I went there as a fan.

"He was like 'they're offering five grand a week'. I was like 'f*** Charlton'.

"I don't care where it is, let's just get it done."

The Hornets signed Deeney for an initial fee of £500,000 and a clause worth £150,000 if they reached the top flight.

Considering that he was later linked with a £30 million move to Leicester City after they won the Premier League in 2016, it would be fair to say that it was an excellent deal to bring him in from Walsall for a six-figure fee.

In hindsight, if Charlton had offered the same wages as Watford, then they could well have signed a player who went on to score 95 goals in the Championship and 47 goals in the Premier League.

Charlton Athletic bought Pawel Abbott and Paul Benson instead of Troy Deneey - that proved to be a mistake

Charlton failed in their bid to sign Deeney, but they did spend money on two other strikers during the summer transfer window in 2010.

First, they brought in Pawel Abbott from Oldham Athletic for a fee of around £20,000, before also going on to sign Paul Benson from Dagenham & Redbridge for £250,000.

Abbott scored just one league goal for the Addicks during a disappointing spell at The Valley, and left the club on a free transfer to join Polish side Ruch Churzow in March 2011.

Benson did manage to hit double figures in League One during his debut campaign in SE7, although he fell out of favour under Chris Powell, and joined Swindon Town midway through the 2011/12 season in a swap deal for Leon Clarke.

There is little doubt that signing a 22-year-old Deeney would have been more beneficial for Charlton, and the Addicks were reminded of what could have been when the striker scored a memorable volley at The Valley in 2014 and netted in a 5-0 win for Watford at Vicarage Road the following year.

Charlton fans were probably not to know at the time though that they were that close to landing Deeney's services, and they wouldn't have known how much of an impact the brute of a striker would go on to have at EFL and Premier League level, so it will always be a case of 'What if?' now that it is public knowledge.