Charlton must act quickly to secure a transfer coup as a major update has emerged, one which could result in the club missing out on a deal.
What's the talk?
According to The News, League One side Ipswich have joined the race to land Portsmouth goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray this summer. The report claims that Ipswich boss Paul Cook is ready to launch a raid on his former club by pursuing a deal to sign MacGillivray on a free transfer next month.
MacGillivray's current deal expires at the end of June and Portsmouth have opted against triggering a 12-month extension as they are facing a reduced budget and as such, are unable to afford his wage demands.
Last month, London News Online claimed that Charlton are eyeing up MacGillivray as a possible target. Ben Amos is also out of contract this summer and Charlton have identified MacGillivray as a player they could bring in to replace the shot-stopper.
After he saved a penalty against Accrington Stanley in 2018, Pompey journalist Neil Allen labeled MacGillivray as a “confident” player, who has a strong mentality. He told The News:
“You can talk about his mentality that he gave that away but he made the save.
“So he’s a very strong, mentally, keeper as well and he’s been a really good signing,
“That’s been his only big mistake all season and it still didn’t go in.
“He doesn’t drop anything when he comes for crosses as well, is very confident, and he made a couple of good saves later on as well.”
Fans would be buzzing
Charlton fans would be buzzing if the club could secure a deal to sign McGillivray ahead of Ipswich. If they can act quickly and beat Ipswich to the punch in this race then they could land a fantastic League One shot-stopper and find an adept replacement for Amos, if the former Manchester United man does decide to leave the club at the end of the month.
Ipswich are clearly presenting a challenge to Charlton and Adkins' side must act now to make sure they do not come out second-best.
Amos enjoyed a fine season with Charlton and kept 17 clean sheets in 46 League One appearances, conceding 56 times. McGillivray, meanwhile, conceded 51 times and kept 15 clean sheets for Portsmouth in League One and was named the club's Player of the Season for the 2020/21 campaign. This shows how highly the Pompey fans rate MacGillivray and why he could be a terrific replacement for Amos.
The £2.4k-per-week beast between the sticks, MacGillivray, could, therefore, be a superb addition to Nigel Adkins' squad. He posted similar statistics to Amos in League One and is three years younger than the current Charlton shot-stopper. This means that Charlton could get a few more seasons of service out of MacGillivray in comparison to Amos, which could make him an ideal player to come in, with fans able to potentially being able to enjoy watching MacGillivray for years to come.
AND in other news, Get it done: Charlton must seal deal for £6k-p/w ace who “desperately wants to play”...