Charlton Athletic are among three Championship clubs who have made an approach to sign free agent Mathias Ross.
According to Pete O’Rourke, Millwall and Preston North End are also believed to have approached the former Galatasaray defender, who left the Turkish club at the start of July by mutual consent.
The 24-year-old joined the Turkish giants in the summer of 2022 but failed to break into the squad, making no league appearances in his three years at the club.
Ross had two loan spells in two seasons, with the first being with Dutch side NEC Nijmegen. His second loan spell was with Czech team Sparta Prague last season, with whom he made he made 17 appearances, including playing the full 90 minutes of their 6-0 loss to Atlético Madrid in the Champions League.
The Czech team finished fourth in the league but ultimately decided not to exercise the buy-option in the Denmark under-21 international’s loan.
Why do these Championship clubs want him?
Charlton Athletic will be keen on low-cost signings as the play-off winners look to mark their return to the Championship for the first time in four years by avoiding relegation.
The Addicks have already missed out on Ethan Galbraith from Leyton Orient, who has joined Swansea for an estimated £3million despite links to both Charlton and Huddersfield.
Despite this, Charlton have recruited ex-Premier League goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski from Luton Town as they look to shore up at the back. Could Mathias Ross be starting in front of Kaminski for Charlton’s opening match of the Championship season against Watford?
Last season, Preston narrowly avoided relegation on the last day of the season and, like Charlton, will be preparing for a difficult campaign at the back.
Already, they have re-signed ex-Leicester keeper Daniel Iversen, who made 23 appearances during his first spell at the club during a loan in 2021. The Dane’s career had stalled at Leicester, but a loan to Stoke City in the second half of last season saw him get seven clean sheets in 18 games and recover some form.
Could we see a Danish backline at Preston next season with Ross and Iversen?
For Millwall, who narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season, they must first focus on keeping hold of striker Mihailo Ivanovic, who has been approached by Italian side Parma. The 20-year-old made 40 appearances for the Lions last season, scoring 13 goals and attracting attention from across Europe.