A Hatters midfielder registers with Charlton in an effort to get a taste of the “addictive” thrill of promotion with the Addicks

After scoring his first-ever senior goal for Charlton Athletic during their 4-2 victory over Aston Villa U21s in their EFL Trophy match on Tuesday night, Town midfielder Louie Watson wants to taste that ‘addictive’ feeling of promotion.

The 22-year-old moved to the Valley on loan in September and has already made seven appearances, including three starts in League One, for the Addicks, who just hired Michael Appleton as manager.

He scored his first goal on Tuesday night as well, with a low shot into the bottom corner, making it 3-0 to the home team. They went on to add a fourth goal in the first half, but they gave up two goals in the final minutes of the second to make the score seem much closer.

Watson, who will join Luton in the summer of 2022, made nine appearances for the Hatters last season, recording three Championship stats.

Watson was also present at Wembley as Rob Edwards’ team defeated Coventry City 6-5 on penalties to advance to the Premier League’s promised land.

The former Ireland U21 international knows exactly the feeling he wants to have again after being at Derby County when the Rams were relegated from the second tier in the 2021–22 season, as he stated to the Addicks official website: “Last year was a special year for me, and for any player to be involved in something like that, you get the feeling of just wanting to do that again.”

“You become addicted to that feeling of promotion. I was kind of active in nine games, so it’s one of those things I want to be fully involved in, playing 30, 40 games and getting promoted, and just adding to that promotion.”

It’s simply an addictive sensation.

“Being involved in it at such an early age, I’ve been involved in promotion, relegation, and administration thus far in my career, so I’ve kind of seen it all.

Despite only being 22, I have a lot of experience, therefore I know what experience I want to have right now, and that is promotion.

“The difference between first team football and academy football has a lot to do with mentality; with first team football, winning is everything, as is dominating the opposition.

“Knowing that even if you win the game and score the three points, you still have to go and repeat it again and again” is the toughest challenge.