Aston Villa reject sparks Championship scramble on climb back to the top

Corey Blackett-Taylor is wanted by several Championship clubs with Charlton braced for approaches this summer.

The left wing-back, 24, is in demand after joining Charlton last summer from Tranmere. He has since gone on to play 33 games in all competitions and has chipped in with three goals and four assists. His contract is up in two years as Charlton have him for another season, plus a 12-month option.

The former Aston Villa trainee made his first team debut under Steve Bruce in March 2017 as a sub in the Championship before playing once the following season. A loan to Walsall in 2019 followed before he spent the two years at Tranmere in League One and League Two.

Now he is in demand after impressing in South London where the Addicks' boss Johnnie Jackson rates the attacking defender. Blackett-Taylor was on the scoresheet as Charlton beat Cambridge United 2-0 away on Tuesday night. Jackson assessed the player’s development. He said: “Corey has gone from an impact bench player that has no history of really playing beyond an hour, or certainly no history of 90 minutes, and he’s looking strong.

“In the last weeks and months he’s been outstanding. His game has really improved. He’s growing into that wing-back position now, he’s finding much better positions to receive the ball and defensively he’s putting a shift in. He’s finding ways to get on the ball much better now than when he first started playing there, so that’s credit to him and the work that he’s done with my staff to improve that side of his game.

“And then he’s obviously got that unbelievably raw pace and the ability to go both ways that’s obviously a menace against anyone that you’re playing against.” Charlton took a punt on Blackett-Taylor last summer after he