Christophe Lepoint completed his move to The Valley on Thursday. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal for the now obligatory ‘undisclosed fee’.
Lepoint is 6’2″ tall and is a midfield enforcer who can move forward and chip in with a few goals. The 30-year-old can also play as a central defender.
Guy Luzon was pleased with his new acquisition and had this to say to the club’s website:
“He is an experienced player and can play in more than one position.
“He is known as someone who plays in the middle of the pitch, but his versatility gives us more options.
“He is a professional player with a strong mentality and can score goals for the team.
“I believe he will be a very good player in this league.”
The long running saga of Georege Tucudean’s return to Steau Bucharest has now been concluded and the striker has returned to his native Romania.
The Addicks have made enquiries about a possible loan deal for Crystal Palace’s unsettled midfielder, Barry Bannen. Bannen does not appear to be in Alan Pardew’s plans and if he arrives at The Valley, it could herald Yoni Buyens return to Standard Liege.
Charlton face Rotherham at The Valley on Saturday in a game that they will be desperate to win. Rotherham are a solid outfit on the road and they concede few goals.
The Millers strike force of Conor Sammon and Matt Derbyshire will make it a difficult afternoon for the Addicks’ back line. Steve Evans has the likes of Ben Pringle, Danny Ward and Adam Hamill to supply the service to his strikers.
This is the first of four games that could banish fears of Charlton being dragged into a relegation fight. If they can beat Rotherham, Wigan, Blackpool and Millwall – all below them in the table – it would keep the quartet at arms length.
Guy Luzon will not be expecting to be involved in a survival scrap, and will be anticipating a quick turnaround in his team’s fortunes, starting with the Rotherham game.
Marko Dmitrovic had little to do at Wolverhampton but did all that was required of him. Luzon likes to rotate his squad and Stephen Henderson could be fit enough to return if the head coach wants to make a change.
Rhoys Wiggins was given a break at Molineux, with Morgan Fox coming in at left-back. Wiggins returned to the team after a ten week absence without playing any warm-up games. Luzon may have felt that Wiggins had been rushed back too soon.
The rest will have been beneficial and Wiggins will be in contention for a starting berth.
Oguchi Onyewu did not travel to Wolverhampton, even though he was fully fit. This may suggest that the American does not figure in Luzon’s plans. The deal to bring Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr to the club has stalled due to Sporting Lisbon’s injury list.
Unless the situation is resolved quickly, Luzon will probably opt to go with the solid partnership of Tal Ben Haim and Andre Bikey again. Chris Solly is likely to complete the back line.
Luzon will have more options in midfield with Lepoint’s arrival and the return to fitness of skipper, Johnnie Jackson. Buyens had a poor game at Molineux and could be at risk.
Spurs loanee, Milos Veljkovic, had a solid game last week and Lepoint and Jackson could contest the other spot in the engine room. Johann Gudmundsson and Jordan Cousins are likely to complete the midfield quartet.
Igor Vetokele has now gone ten games without a goal. He has had to play through the pain barrier due to Charlton’s lack of striking options. He looks jaded and short of confidence at the moment and Luzon may decide to give his Angolan hit man a break.
Tony Watt has impressed in his appearances from the bench, and though not fully match fit, he could get his first start. Callum Harriott could get another start up front as Watt’s partner.
Luzon’s team may look something like this:
Henderson; Solly, Ben Haim, Bikey, Wiggins; Gudmundsson, Jackson, Veljkovic, Cousins; Harriott, Watt.
Subs: Dmitrovic, Fox, Wilson, Buyens, Lepoint, Church, Vetokele.
The referee will be Scott Duncan from Northumberland.
This will be a tough, competitive game and the Addicks may have to wait a while longer for that elusive win.