Charlton boss labels on-loan Town midfielder's displays as 'poor' as he fails to feature in Oxford loss

Charlton Athletic boss Michael Appleton stated that the ‘poor’ form of Luton midfielder Louie Watson has been the reason behind his lack of game time for the Addicks recently.

The 22-year-old moved to the Valley on a season-long loan deal back in September, going on to make 15 league appearances since, but only six of them from the start, as he hasn’t begun a League One match since the 2-2 draw at Portsmouth on November 11.

Watson has had six outings and five starts in cup games, scoring his first ever senior goal in the Bristol Motors Trophy 4-2 victory over Aston Villa U21s, but wasn’t involved in the 2-1 home defeat against Oxford United on New Year’s Day, left on the bench as an unused substitute.

With Charlton academy graduate Karoy Anderson starting ahead of him for the 2-1 defeat at Bristol Rovers on December 29, then speaking to the South London Press & Mercury about the decision, Appleton said: “Louie has gone through a tough period. His form hasn’t been good.

"He’s struggled to make an impact off the bench. When he started a couple of cup games he was poor. These things do happen with young players. You’ve got to allow him to come through that. If his performance levels improve in training and in the bits that he comes on the pitch then he might get a start.”

With the transfer window open, Luton will now have to decide whether to recall the midfielder, who has made nine first team appearances for the Hatters since arriving from Derby County in July 2022, and make a decision on his short-term future.

They have already seen fellow youngster Elliot Thorpe’s time at Shrewsbury Town ended after the Wales U21 international suffered a recurrence of his back injury, with striker Joe Taylor expected to return from Colchester United as well.