Karel Fraeye told the South London Press on Thursday that it was a “very, very easy” decision to let Tony Watt go to Cardiff. But was it the correct one?

Hugely popular with the fans, Watt has courted controversy throughout his career. A supreme showman – few will ever forget how he held the ball in the corner for over two minutes, in the Nottingham Forest game last season – when he does not produce, it gives the manager a headache.

Watt found himself dropped to the bench for the season’s opener after what Guy Luzon called a ‘training ground incident’, rumoured to be a fracas with coach, Damien Matthew.

The Scot replaced Karlan Ahearne-Grant at half-time, scored the first goal, and played a major part in Charlton’s win.

He scored again in the following match, a Capital One Cup tie with Dagenham & Redbridge at The Valley. Watt continued his blistering start to the campaign in the next game, giving the Addicks the lead in the drawn match at Derby.

From there on, it was all downhill for him though. At the time of his departure, he had played another eleven Championship games – nine starts plus two substitute appearances – without finding the back of the net.

Interestingly, Watt was not involved in any of Charlton’s other three league wins, against Hull, Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham. He admitted he was fortunate not to be dropped as his form slumped.

Fraeye will want to mould his own team, but will have to work within a tight budget. One way he can generate extra funds is to sell, and remove a player’s wages from the bill.

Watt cost Standard Liege in excess of £1,000,000 whan they bought him from Celtic, and it is likely that the Addicks would want a seven figure fee to allow Cadiff to make the deal permanent in January.

Watt would be earning a substantial amount in wages, so his transfer would give Fraeye’s playing budget a real boost.

If Fraeye does not fancy Watt as a player, it would indeed have been an easy decision for him to sanction the striker’s move to Wales.