Charlton Athletic director of football Steve Gallen has revealed his side saw off competition to sign Ben Watson in the last transfer window, as per the Addicks’ official YouTube channel.
The midfielder was ‘wanted’ by other clubs but opted to move to the Valley.
It was a tough summer for Charlton with their transfer embargo and that could have stopped Watson’s move to the club. However, he was eager to get the deal done despite interest from elsewhere.
Watson, who is 35 years old, parted company with Championship side Nottingham Forest at the end of last season and wanted to move back down south.
Gallen has talked about how his move came about on YouTube: “He trained with us for a couple of weeks, which was a risk to him because imagine if he had got injured? Or, you know, then we come of the embargo and can’t offer him a contract or whatever. He took a risk but it paid off. As soon as Thomas (Sandgaard) came in and was made official we went straight in.”
He added: “He was wanted by other clubs but he wanted to come here, in all honesty, he wanted to come to this football club, he wanted to play for Lee Bowyer and he wants play for Charlton.”
Watson is vastly experienced and has racked up 510 appearances in his career to date, having previously played for the likes of Crystal Palace, Wigan Athletic and Watford.
He has played seven times for Charlton since his summer switch and will be looking to help them gain promotion from League One this season.
In other Addicks, they struck a ‘very good’ deal with Cardiff City for Dillon Phillips, as per The72.
