'Confirmed' - Charlton Athletic poach League One rivals to complete 'real good' transfer

Charlton Athletic have confirmed the club's first signing this summer with goalkeeper Will Mannion arriving in London from League One rivals Cambridge United.

The 26-year-old, who made 18 appearances for the U's in the third tier last term, becomes Nathan Jones' first signing as Charlton Athletic manager in a big coup for the club. The shot-stopper will bring competition to Harry Isted and Ashley Maynard-Brewer for a starting role between the sticks next term - although both of those Addicks stars have been linked with a move away from The Valley.

Mannion had been with Cambridge since 2021 having come through the AFC Wimbledon youth academy before moving to Hull City and Pafos. The player, whose contract was up this summer, featured in the side's last nine outings as they avoided the drop by four points

As the transfer was confirmed on the club's website, Jones said: “He’s an experienced goalkeeper. We’re looking to improve every department over the summer in what is a big recruitment window for us. We identified Will as a real good goalkeeper who has done fantastically well at Cambridge and he did well against us in the game that he played.

"He’s someone that’s a real good profile in terms of size, he’s on his way up, he’s really hungry and he wants to get to and play at a higher level. That’s what attracted us to him.

“He’ll provide real good competition to those who we bring into that department and obviously he brings a real talent to it. We want to improve the department. We’re looking to bring in two goalkeepers to have a real competitive edge to them and two we believe can play at not just this level, but also can play at the level above.”

Charlton Athletic confirmed that Mannion had put pen to paper on a three-year contract with the club, completing a free transfer. The Addicks also hold the option of an extra year in the deal.