Charlton Athletic had a very busy deadline day, which started with the loan signing of Aiden McGeady, who was then joined by Matt Smith and David Davis – with the pair also coming in temporarily.
To put into context how much they managed to pull off on the day, their only other recruit in the whole of the January transfer window was Andre Green, who came in on loan from Aston Villa.
While deadline day signings are a luxury for some clubs, it can be suggested that this late flurry of business was key for the Addicks and East Street Investments in particular.
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This was their first transfer window since taking over from Roland Duchatelet, meaning it was their time to make a statement of intent, showing the fans the ambition they have for the club.
With just Green coming in, it is safe to say that fans were underwhelmed by the amount of business being done as the window went on.
This was best summarised by reaction to the news that Florentin Pogba had been training with Charlton as a favour, rather than being on trial – this inspired one fan to suggest there had been “a lot of hot air from the owners so far”.
Are you a Championship expert? How much did each of these big-money signings cost?
However, there is now surely a very different complexion to the transfer window following these late acquisitions, especially as Green has already scored twice from three starts and one substitute appearance.
In addition to that, McGeady is an experienced head with eight-goal contributions this season, Smith is a seven-cap Wales international, while Davis has 210 Championship games under his belt.
What makes the window feel like a far greater success is also the players they have managed to keep at the club.
ESI showed they won’t fall into a typical Charlton trap by rebuffing Fulham’s interest in Alfie Doughty, while they also managed to keep hold of Lyle Taylor, who scored a vital goal against Barnsley to take his season’s tally to eight goals.
It should also be added that all of this came in the same month that Bowyer was tied down to a new three-year contract.
All in all, with the three late signings added to the mix, ESI have definitely made a good first impression at Charlton.
Meanwhile, Charlton had one lucky escape during the transfer window.