Charlton Athletic will have player regret as Stoke City, Crystal Palace transfer news emerges | OneFootball

A former Charlton Athletic academy player is attracting transfer interest from the Premier League.

Charlton Athletic must regret their decision to release defender Junior Tchamadeu as he is now attracting interest from the Premier League.

The right-back, who joined the Addicks' academy at the age of 10, was just 16 years old when he was let go by the club in 2020.

He had trials with Luton Town and Tottenham Hotspur following his release, before signing for League Two side Colchester United, where he made a name for himself as one of the most promising young full-backs in the EFL and earned a move to Stoke City.

Tchamadeu made his first-team debut for the U's when he was still only 16, in the same year that he was released by Charlton, and he has since shown that the London club probably made the wrong decision not to tie him down to a professional contract.

Charlton must regret Tchamadeu decision

In the five years that have passed since Charlton released Tchamadeu, the 21-year-old has won Colchester's Player of the Year award, earned a big move to the Championship with Stoke City, and represented Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations.

He made 41 appearances in the second tier for the Potters during the 2024/25 campaign, and his performances during the second half of the season have not gone unnoticed, as he is now attracting transfer interest from the Premier League.

Charlton's South London rivals Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for the Barking-born defender, and according to those reports, it would take a fee of at least £4.2 million for him to leave the Bet365 Stadium this summer.

There is no doubt that if the Addicks could turn back the clock, they would do everything in their power to keep Tchamadeu, as not only would he have been a good option at right-back in League One over the last few seasons, but the club may also eventually have been able to command a significant transfer fee for his sale.

Nathan Jones will certainly be content with his current first-choice right-back, as Kayne Ramsay has been outstanding this term during Charlton's run to the League One play-off final, but that does not change the fact that releasing Tchamadeu was probably the wrong decision.

Charlton might have had another academy success story

Charlton have brought a number of players through their academy who have gone on to command significant transfer fees in the past, including Joe Gomez, Ezri Konsa and Ademola Lookman.

The likes of Tyreece Campbell, Karoy Anderson, Miles Leaburn and Ashley Maynard-Brewer are all academy graduates who have made an impact this season, further highlighting how important the youth set-up is for the club.

In hindsight, Junior Tchamadeu might have been another success story for the Addicks' academy if he had stayed at the club, especially now that he is being linked with a multi-million-pound move to the top flight.

Charlton will no doubt continue to produce quality players with the ability to contribute to the first-team, and they will certainly be hoping that no other young talent with Premier League potential is able to slip through the net and end up proving their worth at another club.