Charlton Athletic could look to Ipswich Town in their search for George Dobson replacement: View | OneFootball

Transfer speculation season is well and truly upon us in League One, with third tier teams already starting to look at their options for the following campaign as the summer begins.

Charlton Athletic will be no different, with the Addicks hoping to build a squad worthy of competing at the top of the division in the following campaign, following the bright embers of Nathan Jones’ start to life at The Valley.

The South London side look likely to be going into the following campaign without current captain George Dobson though, with the skipper set to join Hungarian side Fehervar having signed a pre-contract agreement in February.

That will leave them searching high and low for a player capable of producing performances of a similar ilk to the 26-year-old’s over his three-year stint in the capital, and in Ipswich Town’s Dom Ball they have a man capable of filling the void.

Dom Ball’s Ipswich Town departure could play into Charlton Athletic’s hands

Dobson’s commandeering presence in the heart of Athletic’s midfield have been the glue keeping the side together since his arrival from Sunderland in 2021.

Playing over 120 times over the course of the past three seasons, the former Walsall man has matured into a talented performer during his time in a red shirt, with current boss Jones expressing his desire to keep him at The Valley past the end of the season.

It looks for all the world like he will be off though, leaving the Charlton boss eying up replacements who can keep the team ticking the way the departing captain did during his time at the club.

With the usual process of players’ contracts coming to an end in June, there is plenty of scope for replacements to be brought in on cut-price deals, and one that stands out from the division above is Ipswich Town’s Ball.

The former Queens Park Rangers man will see his contract come to an end at Portman Road this summer, bringing an end to his two-ear association with the Suffolk side, and leaving him in search of a new challenge.

Having only featured 35 times during his time with the Tractor Boys, Ball will be looking to reignite his career with a summer move, and a drop down in division could give him the impetus to start performing as we have seen him do so before.

Having been something of a regular during his time at Loftus Road, a damaged meniscus in November 2022 scuppered his chances of contributing regularly for Kieran McKenna’s side during their victorious League One campaign, with more than four months on the sidelines.

With further recruits added over the previous summer, the midfielder has found game time all the more scarce during their Championship promotion hunt, with a move away from the club becoming all the more likely as time goes on.

Having secured a move to League One to progress his career in the past, it could well be the same story for Ball this summer, with Athletic the perfect destination for him to start getting back to running the show in the centre of the park.

With over 200 career appearances to his name, the midfielder fits the bill for Jones and the Addicks, with the Welshman securing the services of some experienced heads in his early days in charge at The Valley.

The likes of Connor Wickham and Kazenga LuaLua were both brought in on short-term deals towards the end of the 23/24 campaign to add that much-need experience, and Ball is another that fits the bill in terms of having been there and done it.

That is exactly the sort of mentality you need in a team that is going to continue to challenge at the top during the slog that is a League One season, with experienced campaigners lending a hand to the exuberance of youth to keep the results coming.

Ball’s metronomic style in the centre of the pitch would offer that in spades, with his calm and assured performances controlling matters for his side, and allowing those in front of him to produce the goods to win games.

George Dobson, Dom Ball contract latest

With Ipswich on the cusp of securing a sensation promotion to the Premier League, Ball’s time as a Town player looks set to end when his contract elapses at the end of next month.

It is a similar story for Dobson, who has all but said his goodbyes after being questioned on his future at the club’s Player of the Year awards.

He said: “It’s an incredible football club. Whatever happens, I have had the most incredible three years. To captain this football club has been the best honour in my career.

“With football, some people work with football clubs and some people don’t. I was at Sunderland, an incredible football club, and I just didn’t work there – I didn’t play very well there.

“I have come to Charlton and I have just connected on and off the pitch. They have welcomed my family incredibly well. I have stayed fit, played to a good level, and the fans have appreciated me. I have appreciated them unconditionally.”

With the writing seemingly on the wall, Charlton will be looking to get their summer business done sooner rather than later, and with the potential of Ball being available, they should be doing all they can to make him theirs during the off-season.

With just two defeats in his 16 matches as Athletic manager so far, Jones has got his team resolute and hard to beat, although that time has seen just four victories with ten of those matches ending in draws.