Matt Smith’s Charlton arrival from Manchester City last week has seemingly pushed Albie Morgan closer to the loan door.

Addicks boss Lee Bowyer confirmed earlier this week that he expects some of his squad to make loan moves this month, with Morgan one of those names linked with a departure.

Morgan is no stranger to playing elsehwere having spent a short spell at Ebbsfleet earlier this campiagn before beign re-called due to the injury cirsis at Sparrows Lane. 

With the transfer window now closed, a move to non-league is the only option, and Smith's added competition to an already packed Charlton midfield has made Morgan surplus to requirements.

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Morgan and Smith are 20-year-old midfielders, both very well thought of at their respective clubs.

Smith, a Welsh international who had a host of European clubs chasing his signature recently signed a new three-year deal at the Etihad, a signal of just how well he’s revered in the blue half of Manchester.

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Having spent last season on loan at Dutch side FC Twente, the youngster was loaned to QPR for the first half of this season, but found game time hard to come-by, making just two starts in eight appearances for the Hoops.

With Morgan making 12 appearances including seven starts for the Addick this term, it left some fans wondering why bring in an unproven youngster to replace one of the club’s academy who has been in and around the first squad for the majority of the last 18 months.

“Technically he’s one of the best players we have here,” Bowyer said of Morgan.

“His range of passing, his vision, technically he’s unreal, but he needs to learn the other side of the game and unfortunately for us when he’s played, he’s cost us goals.

“He needs to learn the defensive side, all players do, when they’re young you need to go and make mistakes somewhere else, learn the game, come back, then maybe next season they’ll be ready.

“Smith, he’s a bit of everything, he works hard, he’s a bit of an all-rounder.

“He’s a good in possession, the same as Albie.

“Good in the attacking third, the same as Albie.

“But he’s also good in the defensive third, Albie’s not.

“Albie cost us a goal at QPR, and cost us a goal against Bristol.

“In two games he cost us two goals.

“He needs to learn the defensive side of the game, and because of that he needs to go out on loan, because as a manger, I can’t have him making mistakes and costing us goals, costing us points.

“It’s not just Albie, (Ben) Dempsey went on loan and he played in a cup game and twice his man scored, he run off the back of him. If that happened to us, it’d cost us, each goal is massive, we are trying to stay in the league.”

Bowyer praised the contribution of his academy stars have made this season but confirmed they will be sent out on loan to develop further.

With as many as 15 first team players injured at one time this season, Bowyer has had to rely on the production line which is the club’s academy to field a side.

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Josh Davison, Alfie Doughty, James Vennings, Morgan and Dempsey have all featured heavily for the Addicks in recent months, but now with Bowyer nearly having a full squad to choose from, it seems Doughty will be the only one that has done enough to command a space in his matchday squad.

“We’ll be letting them out on loan which will benefit us in the long run,” Bowyer said.  

“The young lads that came in have been great, unreal.

“To be thrown in like that, normally people put one or two in from the academy at a push, we had five, playing against top international players, a lot are Premiership players that have come down to the Championship.

“They’ve been a credit to a club.

“Probably three of the midfielders will go to gain experience and learn the defensive side of the game.

“It’s not a negative going on loan.

“They’ve done great, I couldn’t ask any more from them.

“They’ve given me everything they have.”