Charlton Athletic dealt blow in manager hunt as ‘every Premier League club’ wanted League One star

Portsmouth have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the League One campaign after recording an impressive 3-1 win over Peterborough United last weekend.

John Mousinho’s side sit fifth in the early table, with three wins and three draws under their belt. The four sides above them have all collected 13 points so far.

Pompey are not in action this weekend due to international call-ups as they were set for a tough test in South Yorkshire against Barnsley. Several League One games have been postponed for the same reason, with just Exeter City v Leyton Orient and Stevenage v Carlisle United going ahead.

With a number of sides not in action this weekend, we have rounded up the latest news from the division below.

Charlton ‘denied’ permission to hold talks with target

Charlton Athletic are still on the hunt for their next manager after sacking Dean Holden. Former Pompey duo Danny Cowley and Michael Appleton have been linked with the role but Mumbai City boss Des Buckingham has emerged as a contender. The 38-year-old has coached abroad for much of his career. Mumbai are owned by City Football Group, the same owners of Premier League champions Manchester City.

Daily Mirror reporter Daniel Marsh reports Charlton have been denied permission to speak to Buckingham, however. City Football Group are keen to keep the coach on their books despite the London club being prepared to meet the relevant compensation fees.

‘Every’ Premier League club was interested in Peterborough starlet

Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony has claimed every Premier League club showed an interest in England U18 international Benjamin Arthur before his departure from the League One outfit. The defender is highly rated and joined Brentford on deadline day with MacAnthony revealing there was interest from across the Premier League.

“The only person who was fully respectful to us was Matthew Benham at Brentford, when they bought Benji Arthur, who is a scholar,” he said on the The Hard Truth Podcast. “Benji wouldn’t sign a pro deal and we had 20 Premier League clubs [looking at him].

“The England under-18 manager said he was one of the best centre-backs at that age, let alone for England, and it just set off a whole thing during July and August that all the top clubs, like my Liverpool, hadn’t been to a Posh game and they were coming to our under-21 games, first time I had seen them, and they were all looking at Benji.

“We had a price which was nearly a record for a League One scholar, plus millions in add ons, as I think he will be in their first team in three years’ time. And knowing Brentford, they will probably sell him for £60 or £70 million.

“We have a solid sell on, so we will make millions off it, but to be fair to Matthew I had a figure up-front and I never changed on the figure and he got the figure, bang.”