Charlton Athletic have staked a claim for the best signing announcement of the summer window after releasing a hilarious 'The Office' themed video to confirm the arrival of Jack Payne.
Payne, 27, has joined the Addicks on a two-year deal after leaving Swindon Town at the end of his contract with the
club.
He is the third player to swap The County Ground for The Valley this summer, with Mandela Egbo and Joe Wollacott also joining Charlton on free transfers.
It comes after former Swindon manager Ben Garner joined Charlton on a three-year deal last month.
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Spotting the opportunity for a unique announcement video, Charlton used a scene from the 'The Office' to confirm the signing of Payne.
In the scene, David Brent – played by comedian Ricky Gervais – is discussing how he plans for his Slough branch of paper merchant Wernham Hogg to incorporate the Swindon team as the company downsizes.
During the scene, Brent receives a call which he allows to go to his answering machine.
Charlton have then spliced in a video of their new signing, who says: "Jack Payne here, formally of Swindon.
"Yeah I just thought I'd let you know that I’ll be signing for Charlton later. Look forward to seeing you then."
The video then cuts back to the original scene of Brent promising to keep the information from the meeting secret.
Unfortunately for football fans, Charlton unexpectedly deleted the announcement video two hours after publishing it.
Speaking after completing his move to Charlton, Payne said he is looking forward to reuniting with his former Swindon manager Garner.
"I have played under the gaffer before and got on really well with him. I played some of my best football under him and I am just looking to recreate that here.
"He spoke so highly of the club and it was a massive factor, as well as many other reasons, in me wanting to be here."
Topics: Charlton Athletic, Swindon Town, Football, League One, League Two, Transfers
Rory O'Callaghan