There was morning cheer for Addicks fans on Friday when it was announced that one of the Wembley‎ heroes, Jonny Williams, has accepted the club’s invitation to join them at their Spanish training camp.

Williams was released at the end of his short term contract. The club did not think they would be able to offer him an acceptable financial package for the forthcoming season but the door was left ajar if Williams did not find a suitable deal elsewhere.

The player enjoyed his time at The Valley enormously, and if possible, both parties would like to extend his stay in SE7.

Two permanent signings  have also followed Williams to the club.

Milton Keynes attacker, Chuks Aneke, was the first to be announced. The former Arsenal trainee‎ is 25-years-old and made 61 league starts for Paul Tisdale’s side, plus a further 23 appearances from the bench, and scored 30 goals.

Aneke has been on the Addicks’ radar for some time, and at 6’3″, his physicality will be a bonus.

The player was delighted with the move, and had this to say after completing the deal:

“It feels great, I’m delighted to be at such a big club. I can’t wait to get started.

“I’ve played at The Valley a few times. You come here, you see the atmosphere, it will be good to come here as a Charlton player.””

Lee Bowyer added:

“He’s versatile. He can play in the 10-role just behind the strikers, he’s a big physical boy but don’t be fooled by that because he can play.

“His goals and assists that hes been getting over the last few years is really good and his awareness – he knows when and where to pass – it is exceptional.”

Aneke penned a two-year deal. Shorlty after the Aneke deal was confirmed, news broke that Bristol Rovers’ skipper, Tom Lockyer, had also agreed a two year contract to come to The Valley.

Lockyer‎ is 24-years old, and a central defender with 5 full caps for Wales. He came through the youth system at Rovers, and made 284 appearances for them in all competitions.

He said of his move to South London:

“The first time I sat down with Lee it was quite surreal to be honest, I was hanging off every word he said.

“I left the meeting thinking ‘Wow, this is a challenge I want to be a part of’. I’ve had meetings with other managers and compared them but it wasn’t quite something like that. I’m really excited to be working with him.”

Bowyer was equally enthusiastic about the player:

“He’s a very good player, he’s a winner, he puts his body on the line. He defends properly like the way a defender should and he can play – I think that’s a big part of what we need to do next season, we need to play from the back and Tom’s an international with Wales so we’ve got a good signing in him.

“He was one of the few defenders that kept Lyle (Taylor) quiet last season.”

Head of recruitment Steve Gallen added:

“He is definitely a leader, that is what springs to my mind and I’ve seen him at Bristol Rovers with the armband the last couple of years and he plays like that, he plays like a captain.

“He’s a winner, he’s got a great attitude. He’s a good football player, he’s mobile and someone I’ve been following really for the last couple of years and we’ve worked hard on it over the summer.”

There is still much to be done on the recruitment front, but Aneke and Lockyer are an excellent start to the rebuilding campaign.