Despite another season of treading water for the Addicks, one major positive that has been unearthed throughout the 2022/23 campaign is the 19-year-old centre forward Miles Leaburn.
With 13 goals and three assists in all competitions for Charlton this season, the promising striker has attracted interest from several clubs across the nation, including a handful of Championship sides and a significant Premier League club declaring interest in the prolific talent, The Sun has reported.
Standing at 6ft 5in, Leaburn joined the esteemed Addicks ranks at 16 after he was released from Chelsea and featured numerous times for Danny Senda’s U21 side last season. With a rich history of young talent being produced at Sparrows Lane, it was a no-brainer that Miles would one day be added to the list of successful talents to be produced in South London, such as Joe Gomez, Ademola Lookman and Ezri Konsa.
Breakthrough Season
Fans were left racking their brains in panic at the start of the season with Conor Washington and Josh Davison departing the club last summer, leaving Charlton with two injury-prone, senior centre forwards heading into the beginning of the season.
That was until the emergence of Miles during the club’s pre-season preparations, with Charlton Owner, Thomas Sandgaard, putting his full faith in the teenager to be a significant figure in the squad for the upcoming campaign. After netting two goals for the Addicks in a 6-1 win over Dartford last July, Sandgaard told the South London Press: “Everybody keeps talking about the fact we need another striker, just wait until you see what Miles is capable of and how fast he is developing too.”
The Valley faithful were excited to see Leaburn breaking through into the first team squad, hoping the teenager would follow in his father’s footsteps, Carl Leaburn. The former Addick made over 300 appearances in red and white across an 11-year spell in SE7, and to this day remains an iconic figure at the club.
Sensational Start
On the opening day of the season, former manager, Ben Garner, named Miles amongst the substitutes as Charlton took a tough trip up to Accrington Stanley to kick off their campaign. The score was level at 1-1 heading into the dying embers of the clash before Leaburn rose into the air and put the Addicks ahead in the 94th minute, sending the away end into chaos before the home side equalised just moments later.
Despite the heartbreaking end to the meeting, Charlton fans knew they had an exceptional talent on their hands for the foreseeable future.
Dean’s Denial
Since the appointment of Dean Holden as Manager back in December, Miles has become Charlton’s first-choice striker in the 2nd half of the season, featuring 20 times for the Addicks, including 14 starts.
With speculation of the teenager’s future looming, Holden told the South London Press: “Miles is a fantastic young player who has lots to learn still. He is somebody I love working with. It is just speculation.”
Fans are preparing for the worst this summer, with the club having a known history of letting huge talents go for minimal transfer fees. Most previously, Mason Burstow joined Chelsea on deadline day back in January 2022.
Resilient Recognition
In a 4-2 triumph over Exeter at The Valley back in October, Miles limped off the pitch on the hour mark, picking up a horrific ankle injury which would see him sidelined for two months due to ligament damage.
Before sustaining the injury, Miles had netted five goals in 16 appearances for the first team, and this would be a major setback in Charlton’s hopes for a potential promotion push.
Despite remaining outside of the reckoning for 11 League One fixtures this year due to his ankle injury and a few niggles along the way, Miles was able to maintain an average of a goal every 144 minutes, ranking him ahead of two of the league’s top goal scorers in Jonson Clarke-Harris and Colby Bishop.
Leaburn was recognised at Charlton’s annual Player of the Year award ceremony, where he collected the Young Player of the Year award. He also finished in third place for the Player of the Year award.
Speaking at the Player of the Year ceremony, Miles said, “I don’t think I was thinking I would do this well this season, it’s been a dream and it has been amazing, I’m proud of myself.”
“I’ve done as well as I have with the limited amount of performances, I’m excited to see for myself if I have a full campaign to see how many goals I can get and what I can do.”