Nathan Jones's intention to get his 2024/25 squad in place early this summer gathered pace this week with his third signing - left sided defender, Josh Edwards from Scottish Championship club, Dunfermline.
Edwards joins on a four year contract for an undisclosed fee. It is probably fair to say that the Scottish Championship roughly equates in standard to League One in England and we’ve noted that it’s the level at which Tony Watt was playing last season for Dundee United.
CAST's Dunfermline correspondent confirms that Edwards has been virtually ever present for The Pars for the last three seasons. He was part of the team that were relegated from The Scottish Championship in 2022 but which bounced straight back up again in 2023, having won League One by fourteen points. Last season he played a further 36 league games (scoring 3 goals) as Dunfermline consolidated their Championship position by achieving sixth place. Those appearances were mostly split between left-back and left midfield. Also his versatility means he can play as a left-sided centre-half in a back three and as a left wing-back. Despite the club's modest finish, Edwards was named in The Scottish Championship Team of the Year.
Nathan Jones is delighted:
"We’ve beaten off a lot of competition from other clubs to bring him to Charlton. He's a player with a lot of potential, who has played a lot of games in Scotland over a number of years now. He has the attributes and the profile we look for and he'll only get better. His arrival will help give us real competition on the left-hand side. He provides something different to what we already have and he has a real scope to improve. I’m looking forward to working with him.”
These comments suggest that Charlton are not looking to cash in on Thierry Small in order to fund new signings.
When Josh scores his first goal for us, it will no doubt bring back fond memories of the last Charlton goal scored by a Charlton player named Edwards. It was Boxing Day 1964 and we were losing 1-4 at Leyton Orient when Dennis (Daisy) Edwards scored an 87th minute consolation. It hardly made up for his earlier penalty miss after future Charlton manager Andy Nelson had handled in the area. Amazingly, two days later, Nelson gifted us another penalty in the return game at The Valley. This time Roy Matthews took it and scored in a 2-0 win.
Despite the recent trend of signing players with famous forebears, there is no truth in the rumour that Sebastian Firmani or Tarquin Hales are currently on the club's radar.