Sky Sports’ Pete O’Rourke is reporting that Charlton are locked in a battle with Bradford City, Gillingham and Shrewsbury for Bury midfielder, Stephen Dawson.

Though Dawson still has two years to run on his contract at Gigg Lane, he has a release clause that can be activated due to the Shakers being relegated.

‎Dawson is now 32-years-old and had a difficult 2017/18 campaign due to injuries. He had a spell at Leyton Orient during Russell Slade’s time in charge at Brisbane Road, and Slade wanted to bring him to The Valley.

Lee Bowyer was pleased with his team’s performance against‎ QPR on Saturday. The game was played in extreme heat against higher level opponents.

The Addicks were never behind, and the game was a good workout for both sides. Here are Bowyer’s thoughts:

“The players conducted themselves very well. They worked hard, especially in that heat which made things very difficult, and there are lots of positives that I have taken.
“We played two sides and tried to mix them up as evenly as we could. It was our first game and obviously there was some rustiness but I thought we moved the ball well.

“You have to remember that we have still got three or four weeks until the start of the season. Out in Portugal, we did a lot of hard work running-wise but we also got them (the squad) on the technical stuff. We worked a lot on one and two touch and I think that showed.

“Overall, there were a hell of a lot of positives because we created a lot of chances. It was good to see Lyle and Igor get goals too. That’s the first time I’ve seen Igor play and I was very impressed.‎

Bowyer‎ was also impressed with the four youngsters – Ashley Maynard-Brewer, George Lapslie, Albie Morgan and Alfie Doughty – who he played on Saturday.

“Three of them (Maynard-Brewer, Lapslie and Morgan) came away with us (to Portugal) and they were excellent. ‎

“It’s good for them to learn and to see where they have to get to because they’re not ready yet. I’m sure they’ll admit that themselves. It’s good for them to get used to the demands.

“When you’re playing in the Under-23s and you give the ball away then someone might say ‘don’t give it away’ but in the first team you have men really telling you ‘do not give it away’.

“There’s a big difference and on Saturday they had to be quick on the ball. It’s good for them to learn and they have all done very well so far.”