Allen Accuses Addicks

Wednesday chairman Dave Allen has accused Charlton Athletic of using underhand tactics in a bid to 'nick' highly-rated defender Madjid Bougherra.

The Addicks, who look set for relegation from the Premiership, have already seen an offer of £1.3m knocked back by the Owls, and have been told to up their offer to the £3m valuation set by Wednesday if they wish to secure the Algerian internationals signature.

And Allen has accused the Addicks chairman of trying to unsettle Bougherra in a bid to get him on the cheap.

Allen told the Times: 'Charlton have spoken to him, as they are entitled to do, and, quite frankly, they are trying to nick him. If he goes there, he will go for £3 million-plus.

'Their chairman has spoken to Kaven Walker (the Wednesday chief executive) and he has said that football`s a dirty game and that they will scramble his brain. I`d like to remind the chairman of Charlton that what goes around comes around.'

Bougherra, who arrived at Hillsborough for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around the 250k mark, has attracted the interest of a number of clubs including Birmingham City, Everton and Reading thanks to his impressive performances for the Owls.

But the Owls chairman has reminded any potential buyers that the Owls won't be letting him go for anything less than the £3m valuation set recently.

'The options are simple,' Allen continued. 'He goes for £3 million-plus; he stays and plays; or he refuses to play. But we hold his registration and therefore he can`t play for anyone else until 2009. If we take less than the market value, we are going to be seen as a soft touch.'

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