Welcome to Reading, Daniel Kyerewaa! The Royals have snapped up the 23-year-old attacking midfielder on a free transfer - he was most recently on the books of second-tier German side Preußen Münster. He’s signed a two-year deal.
Kyerewaa is an important attacking reinforcement for the Royals, capable of playing in central and wide areas (more so on the right than the left). He’s been described as a player with a good mix of technical ability and athleticism too. If you’d like a more in-depth view,
tactical analyst Adam (@XxAdamKhanxX) did this excellent Twitter thread on Kyerewaa’s style, strengths and weaknesses.
It’ll be interesting to see where and how Kyerewaa’s used at Reading, though you’d suspect that he’ll initially be a depth player, given the need for him to settle in. Regardless, it’s a nice boost to have another attacking option, especially one who can cover a few positions: right wing, left wing and one of the more advanced spots in the midfield trio of Reading’s 4-3-3. That’s certainly more cost-effective than looking for separate back-ups for multiple positions.
Another thing to watch is to what extent Kyerewaa’s arrival is the start of an adjustment in where Reading look for signings. This is one of the relatively few times the Royals have brought in a player from outside England in recent years - other examples include Tyler Bindon (Los Angeles, August 2023), Clinton Mola (VfB Stuttgart, September 2023) and Amadou Mbengue (Metz, September 2022).
Rob Couhig recently explained to the Reading Chronicle that the Royals’ transfer strategy is indeed being adjusted:
“I don’t think people understand that the breadth of our recruitment is no longer League One or League Two. We have done a great job with some loans, but we are looking around the world.
“That comes with its own complications, making sure the immigration people are good, and the work permit people are good. We have to make sure everyone we want can get through that process, and I think we’re feeling happy about that now.”
So could further additions in this window come from outside the UK? Watch this space.
So what’s Kyerewaa’s story?
Kyerewaa was, as it happens, born in Reading’s twin town of Dusseldorf. If you’d like another tenuous Reading connection, he was previously on the books at Schalke, aka the Royal Blues.
Coming through the youth system at Fortuna Düsseldorf, he spent four years in their under-17 and under-19 sides. However, he moved onto Schalke in 2020, getting his introduction to men’s football by playing for their reserve side - Schalke II - in the fourth-tier Regionalliga West.
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Photo by David Inderlied/picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe first of his three seasons at Schalke was heavily disrupted by a shoulder injury, which kept him out of action for five months. However, he got more game time in 2021/22 and even made it onto Schalke’s first team’s bench a couple of times, before having the best season of his career - 11 goals and three assists in 32 - in 2022/23.
In 2023 a move to Preußen Munster beckoned, with the player having reportedly turned down a new deal at Schalke due to not wanting to keep playing in the Regionalliga. Munster were at the time in the third tier, but Kyerewaa helped them to promotion into the 2 Bundesliga a year later. He became a free agent this summer.
Kyerewaa has therefore built up a fair amount of experience at first-team level, albeit in the lower tiers of German football (not that that’s anything to look down on as the fan of a League One club). As well as 64 appearances in the fourth tier, he’s also made 33 in the third and 20 in the second.
However, while German football isn’t the most dissimilar from English football stylistically, it could take Kyerewaa a little while to gel at Reading. After all, this will be the youngster’s first spell outside of Germany in his career. It’s an intriguing signing though and hopefully one that bears fruit.
Welcome to Reading, Daniel!
