Abbott rushes to The Valley
Phil Parkinson completed his second signing in the space of seven hours when striker Pawel Abbott was recruited from Oldham Athletic on Friday evening.
The Addicks have paid a nominal fee for the targetman, who netted 13 times for the Latics last season.
The capture of Abbott came just hours after right-back Simon Francis completed a move from Southend United in a transfer worth an initial £35,000 to the Shrimpers.
"It's been a good day and it's great news to have Pawel on board,” said Parkinson, who is expected to give the forward some match time in Charlton's final pre-season friendly against Watford on Saturday.
"We know we are short in the striker department. Pawel is another player I've known for a while and I watched him for many years when he was at Huddersfield Town.
"He's a big targetman who is always a goal threat, and he's got a good goalscoring record.
"The deals for Pawel and Simon are both excellent financial ones for the club, and they are two valuable additions to our squad. We are looking forward to working with them both and hopefully there are some more to come.”
With just eight days to go until the first match of the campaign, against AFC Bournemouth, Parkinson is aware time is of the essence.
But he stressed that he would not be recruiting players merely to boost his squad numbers.
"Things are tight financially, as we all know, but the chairman and I want to get players in who are going to improve us,” said Phil.
"We're not getting in players just for the sake of it, it's important we get the right players in.
"If you do that, sometimes you have to wait. We are starting to build a squad which can be competitive, but we have still got plenty of work to do.”
Abbott becomes Charlton's sixth summer signing, following in the footsteps of Francis, Alan McCormack, Johnnie Jackson, Gary Doherty and Kyel Reid.
His last game for Oldham actually came against the Addicks last season when Charlton visited Boundary Park on the final day of the regular season.
On a dramatic afternoon, Parkinson's men briefly held an automatic promotion place, although their 2-0 win proved to be to no avail as Leeds United went up behind champions Norwich City.
The striker, who has previously played in the northern heartlands of Preston North End, Bury, Huddersfield Town and Darlington, also spent time in South Wales, at Swansea City.
Abbott hit 13 goals for the Latics last term, and had a goal disallowed in a 0-0 draw at The Valley.
One of the more interesting characters in the game, Pawel was born in York, yet has played international football for Poland.
The son of a Polish mother and an English father, he lived in Poland from the age of 11 to 18 and was capped at youth level before representing Poland U21s on six occasions, netting on his debut.
He played for LKS Lodz as a youngster, before his English career started at Preston in 2001.
His first goal in English football came during a loan spell at Bury in a 1-1 draw against Hull City and he netted in the Shakers' next game, too, a 4-3 win against Shrewsbury Town, Charlton's first-round opponents in the Carling Cup this season.
He also scored against hometown club York City, and his first goal for parent club Preston came in a 2-1 Championship defeat at Stoke City on New Year's Day 2003 before he returned for a second spell to Bury later that season.
During a three-year stint at Deepdale, Abbott played 30 times, scoring five goals, and was a former teammate of Alan McCormack, who has also arrived at The Valley over the summer.
He moved to Huddersfield initially on loan in February 2004, and scored an 86th-minute equaliser against Bristol Rovers on his debut, featuring alongside Akpo Sodje in the Terriers ranks.
He added three more goals in his loan spell before sealing a permanent switch. and on the opening day of 2004/05 he bagged a last-minute winner at Stockport County.
He added a hat-trick for the Terriers in a 3-0 win against Port Vale in September and ended a prolific season with 27 goals to his credit.
The following season started with a goal in each of his first six matches and he ended the campaign with 14 as Huddersfield lost to Barnsley in the League One play-off semi-finals.
Abbott netted five times before the turn of the year in 2006/07, but was sent off on what proved to be his final Town outing, on New Year's Day 2007.
He joined Swansea in January before switching to the North East, and Darlington, at the start of the 2007/08 campaign.
He netted 17 goals in two campaigns as a Quaker before arriving at Oldham last summer, netting his first two goals for the club against Leyton Orient on August 15th. He ended last campaign as the Latics' top scorer with a baker's dozen.
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