Charlton manager discusses omitting Town loanees

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones has explained why Freddie Ladapo, Panutche Camara, and other loanees have not played in recent weeks.

Striker Ladapo, 31, joined the Addicks on loan in January, and midfielder Camara, 27, has spent the season at Valley.

However, Ladapo has not played since the beginning of the month, and Camara has not played since February, while fellow loanees Lewis Fiorini, Tyreeq Bakinson (who formerly played for the Blues), and Louie Watson have all been left out.

Following yesterday’s 1-1 home draw with Shrewsbury, Jones, who took over in February, was questioned if this was because they were not in his long-term plans.

“It’s a bit of a coincidence and a bit of that,” he told the South London Press. “We’ve had loan players in here, and I don’t like taking loans because if we believe in what we do, I don’t want to develop other players for them.”

“We intend to create our own players. We have good enough young players and players here to create our own assets, which is what I enjoy doing.

“Very rarely if one comes available; for example, at Luton, we took [Leicester midfielder] Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall because he was a Premier League player playing in the Championship, and we thought we could keep him for a year.

“But unless someone is head and shoulders above us, I will not take a loan unless they provide us with true, genuine enthusiasm – real quality.

“When I picked the bench I wanted to be as positive as I possibly could. We went with as many frontmen and athletes as we could.”

Camara, who has made six starts and seven substitute appearances during his loan spell at Charlton, is out of contract with the Blues at the end of the season and, despite the club’s option for another season, appears set to leave permanently after making only one start and three substitute appearances for Town and scoring once.

Ladapo, who has made eight starts and six substitute appearances for the Blues and scored once, has another year on his deal but is set to leave permanently in the offseason. The forward has 25 goals in 33 starts and 42 substitute appearances since joining the club in the summer of 2022 after leaving Rotherham.

Meanwhile, Blues trio Finley Barbrook, Nick Hayes, and Ryan Carr will compete in the Vanarama National League play-offs for their loan teams.

Keeper Hayes of Solihull Moors, who finished fifth in the National League, will advance to the National League play-off semi-finals because sixth-placed Gateshead was forced to withdraw due to a failure to meet the EFL’s admission standards.

The Moors will meet Gatehead in the FA Trophy final next month at Wembley Stadium.

Academy Player of the Year Barbrook & Chelmsford finished second in the National League South and will face Braintree Town or Bath City next weekend.

Aveley, led by midfielder Carr, finished seventh in the National League South and face Maidstone United in the play-off quarterfinals on Wednesday.