There were stories circulating on Thursday afternoon that the Addicks had completed the signing of Jermaine Pennant, and even suggestions that that the a deal for long time target, James Henry, was definitely off.
Both rumours are, at best, premature.
Completing a deal is both difficult and complicated at this time of the year. Clubs will want to have a replacement lined-up before selling a player, and they will have decisions to make about their budgets.
Bringing a player in, may well be dependent on being able to move another one out. In Charlton’s case, they would have a stronger hand in the market if they were able to move on players such as Andre Bikey, Callum Harriott and Loic Nego.
Also, money to fund any necessary forays into the emergency loan market has to be held back.
The Addicks would rather bring Henry in than Pennant. Their bid was considerably less than Wolves were looking for, and it remains to be seen whether a compromise can be reached.
All parties would like to see the deal completed, and though there is not much time left, the deal is far from dead.
Pennant is a possible alternative and has been training at Sparrows Lane for a week now. Much travelled Pennant has plenty of Premier League experience, has undoubted class, but does not really match the current template.
If he was offered a deal, it would probably be short term only. Would Pennant accept that or hold fire for a longer deal elswhere? He is a free agent, so could sign a contract outside of the transfer window. It will be interesting to see if Henry is included in Wolves’ team on Saturday.
If Charlton could negotiate deals for Bikey, Harriott and Nego, they may even be able to consider more than one signing.
Fans who enjoy nostalgia can now visit the Charlton Athletic Museum between 11.00am and 1.00pm on match days. No booking is necessary, admission is free, though a donation is requested.
The Museum is situated in the North Stand and the entrance is close to the East Stand turnstiles.
Fans can keep up-to-date with latest Museum news on Twitter at @chathmuseum. It is well well worth following.
The Addicks will will travel to Molineux in confident mood. They still have injury concerns, so Guy Luzon will have decisions to make.
Chris Solly has a chance of playing at Molineux but Luzon will have to weigh up whether to risk him with a two week break coming up. If the head coach decides to leave Solly out, Jordan Cousins will probably deputise again.
Patrick Bauer played at Peterborough with his injured finger heavily protected. He was partnered by Naby Sarr at the Abax but Alou Diarra is likely to return, with Morgan Fox completing Nick Pope’s defensive shield.
Johann Gudmundsson will continue on the right of midfield, with Ahmed Kashi, and either El-Hadji Ba or Cousins as the central duo. Cristian Ceballos is expected to be fit but Zakarya Bergdich will be on stand by.
Karlan Ahearne-Grant has impressed in recent games and could partner Simon Makienok up front. Igor Vetokele came off the bench to score on Tuesday and could again be a substitute. Mikhail Kennedy will probably be vying with Callum Harriott for a place on the bench.
Luzon’s team could look like this:
Pope; Cousins, Bauer, Diarra, Fox; Gudmundsson, Ba, Kashi, Ceballos; Makienok, Ahearne-Grant.
Subs: Mitov, Sarr, Lennon, Charles-Church, Bergdich, Harriott, Vetokele.
Manchester’s Chris Kavanagh will be the man in charge.
Confidence is high at The Valley right now and Luzon will expect to take something from the game.