Steve Brown is finally allowed to say the name Nathaniel Chalobah.
The former defender wasn’t able to hide his frustration at being forced to say “the trialist” in the last couple of pre season friendlies. Chalobah is on trial no more, having signed a one year deal in SE7. He shouldn't be confused with his younger brother Trevoh who was a 90th minute substitute for England when they beat France 6-4 at The World Cup.
The 31 year old midfielder brings a wealth of experience with him. Chalobah started his career at Chelsea and has also played for a host of clubs including Fulham and Napoli. Most recently he spent two years at Sheffield Wednesday and was in fact still training with the Yorkshire club before Nathan Jones came calling. Across England and Italy Chalobah has made 60 top flight appearances and he has made another 217 appearances in the Championship and earned an England cap in 2018.
With all that experience the question has to be asked of why he was playing at Sheffield Wednesday and how Charlton have managed to sign him. The answer is injuries. Like Reece Burke and Amari’i Bell last season he is a player whose quality would usually put him out of our reach but his body means that many teams won’t take the risk. Chalobah has only made over 30 league appearance once in the last six seasons. It’s a risk to sign him but it’s probably a worthwhile one.
Many Addicks will remember his performance against us at Hillsborough last season. He found his teammates with ease and dominated our midfield of Sonny Carey, Greg Docherty and Conor Coady. During pre season Chalobah has shown a calmness on the ball and a willingness to take on a riskier pass. Coventry is often criticised for taking the safe option but Chalobah is less likely to do that. That will lead to more turnovers in possession but it fits with Nathan Jones’ desire to play more expansive and attacking football. With direct one v one threats on the wings and keen dribblers Carey and Harvey Knibbs ahead of him there will be plenty of targets for the midfielder to hit. Don’t expect to see assists a plenty, his contributions will come earlier in the build up.
Charlton lost a lot of experience in midfield with Coady returning to Wrexham. Chalobah fills that gap well. He will be a great example for Alan Mwamba to learn from and the two have already struck up a good partnership. With two centre backs instead of three the midfield will need to shield effectively and the new signing's positioning will be crucial. This might not feel like a sexy signing but it’s a sensible one if he can stay fit. Let’s hope the risk pays off.
Welcome to SE7, Nathaniel