Charlton Athletic could be braced to lose one of their loan stars this transfer window, but it won’t impact their squad signficantly.
The Irish Independent is reporting that 19-year-old James Abankwah is set to be recalled by parent club Udinese. The defender has been used sparingly by Charlton boss Michael Appleton, with just two EFL starts to his name. Most recently, he was seen lining up for the Addicks 1-1 draw with Cray Valley in the FA Cup but was withdrawn along with Tayo Edun just after the hour mark.
The report suggests that Udinese have now lost patience with his lack of football and are readying him for a return to Italy before a second loan, either back to the EFL or into Serie B. I Bianconeri currently has a player on loan in the Championship (Martins at Watford) and another in Serie C (Piana at Alessandria), but nobody in League One or Serie B, the likely destination for Abankwah.
Michael Appleton has already stated his desire to review some of the loans at the club, althoguh he wasn’t specifically talking about the defender. “It tends to be more of a two-way thing at times,” Appleton told the South London Press in November.
“Sometimes you have it written in there as an absolute must, but a lot of the time, it is more of an agreement between two clubs that there is a week or a two-week period where both parties have a look and assess it – is it going well? Is it not going well? Is it worth continuing, etc?”
Abankwah made 13 appearances for Irish side St Patrick’s before his big move to Udinese. That deal was thought to be worth €800,000, and it saw him loaned back for the season. When he did get to Italy, he ascended to Ireland’s Under 21 team, as well as appearing twice in Serie A, once against Juventus.
However, his education now looks likely to continue elsewhere, with both parties seemingly intent on ending the failed loan.
Writer’s View
Moving from the League of Ireland to Italy was always going to be tough, so the Charlton loan certainly looked wise on paper. Sadly, it hasn’t worked out that way for the young defender, and the writing has been on the wall for him at the Valley for some time.
Whilst a League One move would perhaps suit his level, one wonders if a Serie B move would be better for him. Settling in a new country can’t be easy, and in terms of cultural adjustment, perhaps he can do himself credit if he’s properly settled. That would mean a loan elsewhere in Italy rather than another ‘get out’ back in the UK.
Either way, his spell at Charlton looks likely to fizzle out, but he’s young enough to put it behind him quickly.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief at The Real EFL, Gary is a passionate Lincoln City fan with extensive content creation across the Championship and EFL. He also shares expert football betting tips.
