South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition understands that a short-term deal for former Brighton winger Solly March is now at an advanced stage.
We reported last week that the 32-year-old is set to initially sign until the January transfer window.
The Addicks did strike similar deals last season with out-of-contract players – but without a whole lot of success.
Solly March celebrates scoring against Crystal Palace in March 2023/Picture: Alamy
One of Onel Hernandez’s most notable moments was conceding a penalty at Wrexham – converted by Josh Windass – in a 1-0 loss. The Cuban was released at the end of January. And there was also the lesser-spotted Jerome Roussillon, who did not even make a senior appearance.
March comes with far more pedigree than both those players – 194 Premier League matches and 300 games for Brighton. He had been a schoolboy at Crystal Palace, released around 13 for being too small, and joined the South Coast club in 2011 after dropping into non-league with Lewes.
If March does put pen to paper in SE7, he will be the 12th signing made by Charlton this season.
The former England U21 international is a player that Nathan Jones worked with during the Addick manager’s time as part of Brighton’s first-team coaching set up.
The question is, how much March has left?
There have been suggestions that Brighton were set to hand him a contract extension. But the Seagulls went through a director of football change in early July, Mike Cave stepping up to replace Jason Ayto, which could also have had a bearing in any change of heart.
March, who is in his third week training with Charlton, left his family behind at the end of last season to spend four weeks training in Qatar, showing dedication to keep honing his fitness.
Brighton have two long-serving journalists covering them – The Athletic’s Andy Naylor and Brian Owen at The Argus – so we decided to get the lowdown on March.
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