Another of the Charlton’s youngsters – Dillon Phillips - signed a new contract on Friday. Phillips’ new deal commits him to the club until the summer of 2021.
The 24-year-old won a National League champion’s medal while on loan at Cheltenham in 2016, but has found opportunities hard to come by at The Valley.
Loanees, Declan Rudd, Ben Amos and Jed Steer, have keot Phillips on the bench since then.
When Steer was recalled by Aston Villa in January, Lee Bowyer acted swiftly to bring. In Preston’s Chris Maxwell as a replacement.
But thus far Phillips has kept his place and had this to say after signing his new deal:
“We’d spoken about it (the contract)] for a long time and I am over the moon. I’m delighted to extend my stay and hopefully there are better things to come and better performances to come than today.
“I don’t take playing for granted, I’m grateful every time I play and now I’ve got two and a half more years at a football club I enjoy being at, so I am more than happy. I feel like I’ll keep playing and improving if I keep doing what I’m doing.
”Maxy (Chris Maxwell) has been great with me. He is a top, top pro and he has helped me a lot in training and we are battling with each other all the time. He has only made me a better goalkeeper.”
One of the criticisms of Phillips has been his distribution. With the current trend being to retain possession and build from the back, it is a skill Phillips needs to sharpen up.
But he is working on it and making progress as Bowyer acknowledged:
”Dillon has definitely improved as a goalkeeper from the start of the season. Marsh (goalkeeping coach Andy Marshall) has worked hard with him and Dillon has been on board with that.
“He’s improved, that’s obvious to see. I think he’s making more saves. His distribution has got a little better.
“He still has to improve on that, but he is improving, that’s all you can ask of him.,” said Bowyer.
The future looks bright for Phillips, and the Addicks may go into next season with a home grown number one keeper for the first time in a while.