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A long-awaited return to the Championship is potentially just 90 minutes away for Charlton, who will face Sunderland in the League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium this weekend; the current feeling at The Valley hasn’t been so positive in years.
The Addicks survived the scare against Doncaster last time out to book their place in the final game of the season and can achieve what was almost unthinkable at the start of the season if they can emerge victorious on Sunday.
While Lee Bowyer’s side are going from strength to strength on the pitch, club owner Roland Duchatelet has been slipping further into the shadows and has said he won’t be in attendance for the massive clash, although his nightmare (and the fans’) could soon be over according to The Evening Standard.
There is reportedly a group of potential buyers who are hoping to relieve Duchatelet of his duty in the Charlton hot-seat and it’s thought that conversations regarding a takeover could accelerate after the play-off final, although the controversial Belgian is set to up his asking price if the Addicks achieve promotion.
The SE7 outfit has been up for sale since December 2017 but Duchatelet has refused to budge on his £65m asking price and has consequently been unable to find a buyer. If the 72-year-old increases this further upon Charlton’s successful promotion to the second tier, things will surely only become more complicated.
Check out what happened when two of Charlton’s best players faced-off in a game of ‘Splat’ in the video below…
Of course, such an achievement from Bowyer and his boys will only generate interest but if Duchatelet sees it as an opportunity to milk more money out of a club he has already come so close to ruining, then Charlton may find themselves in even more of a struggle next season.
Former Newcastle midfielder Bowyer has done a remarkable job despite difficult circumstances but he and his squad will be pushed to their absolute limits in the Championship without appropriate investment. Could another tragic slide be around the corner?