The Addicks made a few encouraging signings ahead of the 2016/17 League One campaign, having appointed Russell Slade as manager following their relegation from the Championship the previous season, including Northern Ireland international Josh Magennis, Northampton Town winger Ricky Holmes, and Wigan Athletic defender Jason Pearce.
However, the most exciting new arrival was striker Nicky Ajose, who had scored 24 goals in the third tier for Swindon Town during the 2015/16 season, and was brought in to be part of an attack that included Magennis, Lee Novak, Ademola Lookman, and Karlan Grant.
Charlton paid a fee in the region of £800,000 to sign Ajose, which makes him one of the top 25 most expensive League One signings to this day, as per Transfermarkt.com.
Nicky Ajose’s move to Charlton Athletic was more beneficial for Swindon Town
Ajose scored six goals in League One for Charlton during the first half of the 2016/17 season, although he would only go on to score a further two league goals for the club prior to his eventual departure in 2019.
Slade was sacked by the Addicks in November 2016 after a 3-0 defeat against Swindon, and his replacement, Karl Robinson, allowed Ajose to re-join the Robins on loan for the remainder of the campaign in January 2017, with Tony Watt returning to SE7 following his temporary spell at Heart of Midlothian.
That meant Swindon, having received around £800,000 for the sale of Ajose, still managed to have him in their squad for half of the season. The striker scored five league goals during the second half of the campaign, and despite the fact they ended up being relegated, the move was a good piece of business for the Robins.
Less than a week after Ajose’s move to Charlton had been confirmed, Swindon spent a fee in the region of £400,000 to sign goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux from Liverpool, making the sale of the former Manchester United youngster look even better.
Unfortunately for Charlton, they finished the season in a disappointing 13th place, with Ajose having failed to spearhead a promotion push for the club after his highly-anticipated arrival.
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