Miles Leaburn keeping it in the family in Charlton Athletic's generation game
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Miles Leaburn is keeping it in the family at the club where his dad was a cult hero and his mum is guardian angel to the players. At 6ft 7in, Leaburn has outgrown his father, Carl, who was a formidable presence on Charlton Atheltic’s front line for nearly 400 games in the 1990s. And the 21-year-old striker, the EFL Young Player of the Month, is now leading the resurgent Addicks to within range of League One’s upper slopes.
If you haven’t seen Leaburn’s audacious chip, the winner which ended Wycombe’s 19-match unbeaten run in Christmas week, check it out online. It’s absolute filth. Hampered by ankle and hamstring injuries for two years, Leaburn is flying now. Former England striker Peter Crouch's height didn't stop him from becoming a top-class centre-forward, and it doesn't look as if it will hamper one of League One's hottest prospects, either.
There’s more to Charlton than their version of the generation game, but the Leaburn dynasty remains the beating heart of life at The Valley, where mum Tracey has been head of first-team player care for more than 10 years and fairy godmother as liaison officer to new signings for even longer.
She has taught young players how to cook, open a bank account, change a lightbulb, volunteered as babysitter and helped them find a flat when moving to south-east London from further afield. And by all accounts, if jerk chicken is on the menu at Leaburn’s house, there is virtually a queue of volunteers lining up to sample one of his mum’s signature dishes.
