Lincoln City have completed the signing of Charlton Athletic forward Tanto Olaofe on a season-long loan, adding another attacking option ahead of the Championship campaign.
The 26-year-old arrives at the Bank with an option for the Imps to make the move permanent next summer, subject to certain conditions. His arrival comes after reports yesterday suggested City were in advanced talks with Charlton over a deal, and gives Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw another player capable of operating through the middle or from either flank.
Olaofe brings plenty of EFL experience with him, as well as the pace and physical presence City have been looking to add to the squad this summer. Born in Lewisham, he came through the youth system at Millwall before making his senior breakthrough during loan spells away from The Den.
It was at Sutton United where he first began to make a significant impression, and first reached our scouting network. Olaofe scored 16 times in all competitions during their National League title-winning 2020/21 campaign, helping the club reach the Football League for the first time in their history. He returned to Sutton the following season and added another nine goals in all competitions.
His performances eventually led to a permanent move from Millwall to Stockport County in January 2023. Olaofe became a major attacking threat at Edgeley Park, particularly during the 2023/24 season when he scored 20 league goals as County won the League Two title.
He followed that with nine league goals during Stockport’s first season back in League One, scoring 13 times across all competitions as they reached the play-offs. Across his permanent spell with County, he made 121 appearances in all competitions and scored 37 goals.
That form earned him a Championship move last summer, with Charlton Athletic signing him on a three-year contract. He featured 25 times in all competitions during the first half of the campaign, including 22 Championship appearances, scoring once.
Olaofe returned to Stockport on loan in January and made another 20 appearances across all competitions before returning to Charlton at the end of the season. City have now moved to bring him to the ProAmpac Stadium for the entirety of the 2026/27 campaign.
Sporting director Jez George revealed that City’s interest in Olaofe stretches back several years, with the Imps having previously attempted to sign him while he was with Sutton.
“Tanto is actually a player we first spoke with and presented to four years ago when we tried to buy him when he impressed at Sutton United. We have said that we wanted to add pace, power and physicality to our group this summer, and Tanto ticks all those boxes, as well as experiencing the Championship last season.
“He is aggressive, demonstrates Lincoln City traits in his behaviours, and we are certain that with how we play we can help him to become a real goal threat again.
“Tanto is a perfect fit for our game model, can play across all the front positions, including both wide areas, and he joins us with plenty to prove at this level, like the majority of our squad. We are really pleased to have him as we didn’t believe a loan would have been possible to another club in the Championship and subsequently this opportunity has only arisen in the past few days.
“We have also secured an option to buy, which we can exercise next summer based on certain conditions, so that makes it even more interesting for us.”
There is plenty to like about this addition, particularly given the structure of the deal. City need greater speed and physicality in attacking areas for the step up to the Championship, and Olaofe has demonstrated both qualities throughout his career.
Of course, he does have something to prove here, but by loaning him, we have mitigated risk in the short term. If he does well, we can buy him. If he doesn’t step up, then we can walk away. Of course, the Wikipedia warriors will point to the goal return and moan, but you could do the same for any of our title-winning forwards from last season. A successful player is part of a wider team network that gets results, rather than simply their previous goals haul.
That said, his goalscoring record at Stockport also suggests there is more attacking output to unlock than was seen during his first season at Championship level. The fact City have been interested in him since his Sutton days indicates this is not a reactionary signing either, but a player the recruitment team have tracked for a considerable period.
The option to buy could prove particularly important. If Olaofe finds the form that made him such a threat at Stockport, City have given themselves a route towards turning the loan into something longer term, while initially taking relatively little risk on a player who still has plenty to prove at this level.
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