Charlton Athletic look set to sign winger Kazenga Lualua, once the free agent’s international clearance comes through, Nathan Jones has confirmed.
Despite being down in 15th position, the Addicks possess the top scorer in the league, with Alfie May on an outstanding 20 goals so far this season.
The experienced 33-year-old, Lualua, has previously played under current head coach Jones during his time at Brighton and Hove Albion and Luton Town, and the Congolese-born player was even part of Jones’ promotion winning Luton Town squad in 2019.
His most recent stint has been with Greek side Levadiakos, but he became a free agent at the beginning of February. Lualua hasn’t played in English football since 2021, having had stints in both Greece and Turkey since then.
He will be the second new signing the Londoners have made recently when he gets the clearance from the authorities, with striker Connor Wickham joining last Friday, having also been a free agent. Wickham made his debut last Saturday as the Addicks beat bottom-of-the-table Carlisle United.
Jones is hoping he can be involved in some capacity at the weekend as Charlton Athletic travel to second-bottom Fleetwood Town, hoping to back up last weekend’s win.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Jones confirmed that the club are now waiting for LuaLua’s transfer to receive international clearance [quotes via the South London Press]:
“We have agreed with Kazenga LuaLua – we’re just waiting for international clearance, to see whether he can be involved at the weekend,” Jones said.
“He is a player that I’ve worked with over a number of years. He’s a player I worked with at Brighton, where he was magnificent, then he came in and did a similar job for me at Luton.
Nathan Jones confirmed we're close to signing Kazenga LuaLua in today's press conference ℹ️
— Charlton Athletic FC (@CAFCofficial) March 14, 2024
Watch in full ⬇️#cafc
“He is someone we haven’t got here. In wide areas, we only have Tyreece Campbell as a natural one. We wanted to have that option. I know Kazenga very well. He has just left Greece, so it was an ideal opportunity.
“He is one of those physical phenomenons that you could chuck him on the moon for a year and he’d come back and be able to be potent for a certain number of minutes. That’s the kind of athlete he is. Great lad, fantastic player and he’s had a really good career. I always enjoy working with him – he makes us as a group, club and hopefully as an 11, better.”
Writer’s View
Lualua has had no less than eight different clubs so far in his career, so is somewhat of a journeyman. He will be hoping he can set down roots with Charlton. It is clear with the signings of both him and Wickham that Jones wants experienced players to take Charlton Athletic forward.
The Addicks currently sit 10 points above the drop zone and with young players like Miles Leaburn, Thierry Small and Daniel Kanu in the squad, the older heads Jones is signing will hopefully help aid their development.
Be the first to comment