Charlton want to sign Spurs youngster permanently

Jonathan Obika's chance of becoming a first team player for Tottenham Hotspur passed a long time ago, but heading into last season, it looked like his chances of sticking with a very solid lower-division team were starting to fall by the wayside as well. Then, last season, he was dominant in the Under-21 Premier League before heading out on loan to Charlton. He scored three times in 10 appearances there, and now manager Chris Powell wants to sign him permanently.

Powell talked to the media after a pre-season match against Welling on Saturday and talked about his desire to sign the Tottenham striker.

"We will see with Jon. I can't really see him affecting Spurs' first-team and he did extremely well for us last year. He is a player that we really liked, he did tremendously well and the fans took to him. He may be a player that could wear the red of Charlton again. I would like it to happen but we will wait and see."

Obviously, this is going to come down to what kind of fee Charlton are willing to offer. Daniel Levy isn't going to shake down anyone over Jon Obika, but he did well enough last year that he can command some sort of fee from a Championship or League One club. While Charlton's finances have become much more secure recently, they're not exactly swimming in money.

In any event, I'm just happy that Obika has suitors. He was looking like a guy who was going to struggle to make it as a full-time pro, and now he likely has his choice of a few solid teams. Here's to hoping we can work something out and he can finally become a first team regular somewhere.