Unlike in some previous summer transfer windows, Reading don’t really have to do an extensive recruitment job this year. Even before a single signing was made or new contract signed, the Royals had the bulk of the squad for 2026/27 in place.
There’s already been some movement though. The May retained list included a one-year extension for Jeriel Dorsett and a number of departures; Matt Ritchie and Derrick Williams have since retired; Kyreece Lisbie and Udoka Godwin-Malife have been purchased; and Kelvin
Abrefa (two years) and Andy Rinomhota (one year) are among those to have agreed new deals.
All of that leaves the squad looking something like this…
There’s still a lot more for Leam Richardson, Joe Jacobson and co to do in the coming weeks however. And in this article, I’ll have a go at working out what the recruitment priorities should be and what further business could be done.
For clarity: I’m working on the assumption that there are no surprise major exits, beyond two that I’ll discuss further down. It’s not impossible that other players such as Lewis Wing, Liam Fraser or Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan depart, and if that happens they’ll need to be replaced, but – famous last words – I don’t anticipate any major curveballs coming Reading’s way.
With that out of the way, let’s start with where recruitment isn’t really needed.
Reading are absolutely fine for goalkeepers. Joel Pereira’s one of the better players in this department in League One, and although Jack Stevens hasn’t convinced, there are a few younger alternatives waiting in the wings who’ve had loan experience and signed new two-year deals this summer: Tom Norcott and Harrison Rhone.
The Royals have also done well to get a first-choice back four settled by the start of preseason: Godwin-Malife, Paudie O’Connor, Benn Ward and (probably) Haydon Roberts. The back line is essentially the foundation of the side and it’s great to be able to work with it from the end of June – rather than having to bring in new first-team options across the course of the season, as Reading did in 2025/26. There is however scope to build on this foundation, as I’ll discuss below.
I’d also argue that we don’t really need to bring in young (22 or under), raw, longer-term talent in any position (with one possible exception that I’ll go into) this summer to future-proof the squad. Richardson can call on a number of young players who are ready to graduate from academy level – some of whom have gained valuable loan experience too (the aforementioned goalkeepers, as well as Ashqar Ahmed, Abraham Kanu, Shay Spencer and Sean Patton).
Instead, we’re generally looking at recruiting players who are capable of improving the first team right now. That’d be consistent with Rob Couhig and Jacobson saying the intention this summer is to bring in around half a dozen first-team-quality players this summer.
With Godwin-Malife and Lisbie through the door, that would leave another three or four of that calibre to come in. My list is a bit more extensive than that though.
Top priorities
1) The obvious starting point (for me anyway) is a new first-choice number 10. Kamari Doyle was a key creative player for Reading last season and needs replacing – ideally by being brought back on a permanent deal, but we’ll likely have to look elsewhere. He may well prove to be too expensive.
The Royals looked a much worse side without Doyle in 2025/26. Bringing in a quality playmaker will be crucial if we want to get the most out of Lisbie, Jack Marriott, Daniel Kyerewaa and co.
One question that’s gone through my mind recently is how Reading will use the loan market this summer. Unusually by our standards, we’ve already bought two players outright, but will that be the case throughout this window? Given how expensive quality number 10s can be, I wouldn’t be surprised if we again turn to the loan market to find Doyle’s replacement.
2) Also, a new first-team striker will be vital if Reading want to challenge for promotion. Jack Marriott’s goalscoring record in 2025/26 speaks for itself, but unfortunately his injury record was a real concern: 1,771 league minutes put him 12th in the squad, less than half the tallies of the most regularly appearing players (Wing on 4,076, Joel Pereira on 3,870).
The Royals must therefore bring in someone who can lighten the load on Marriott. I’m not set on the specific tactical profile of striker we bring in, but they’ll need to be able to play up top on their own, get into double figures for league goals and play much more consistently than Marriott – around 1,000 more league minutes than him (or an extra 10 games on top of his 2025/26 tally of 24).
As with the previous position, Reading may have to use the loan market, but we’re likelier to get a reliable, proven centre-forward by buying them.
A rumoured option here is Sam Nombe. The 27-year-old should be available (he was relegated with Rotherham United in 2025/26) and has a good recent record personally: 12 in 31 last season, 14 in 41 the year before.
Regardless of who we go for, I’d be alright with the Royals biding their time a bit this summer to make sure they get the right option (that approach worked with Marriott last summer). Rushing into an expensive deal isn’t a good idea.
3) While another first-team-quality centre-back isn’t quite as pressing as those previous two picks, it’s still important. Having someone capable of pushing O’Connor and Ward would be vital anyway, and that’s before you consider both missed parts of last season through injury and Richardson will probably want to use a back three at some point.
Granted, this player could already be here – Godwin-Malife – who is after all capable of playing at centre-back. I’m going to assume at this point in time though that he’s here primarily as a right-back or right-wing-back, with Abrefa and Ahmed the back-ups.
He’s the right profile to be looking at though. This first-team-quality centre-back signing should definitely be a right-sided one (Dorsett provides cover on the left of defence) and would ideally be more mobile (like Godwin-Malife) rather than less mobile (in the mould of, say, O’Connor).
That would then give Reading the option of deploying an out-and-out back five with quality, specialist players throughout: Godwin-Malife and Roberts at wing-back, Ward at left-centre-back, O’Connor in the middle and [insert player] on the right.
I’d prefer a permanent addition (another Ward-style signing would be great), but let’s not break the bank here. The priority areas for the transfer fee budget, however big it is, should be the two mentioned above. Therefore, a loan might be in order.
4) Last but not least on the priorities list, another centre-back, which would bring us up to four main options plus Kanu. That might seem like a lot, but extra security in this position to mitigate for injury crises is always a good idea.
I don’t see this signing as being part of the half dozen or so first-team-quality additions mentioned by the club leadership – more an extra bit of depth now that Dez Williams has gone. That’s actually the kind of defender I hope we bring in: experienced and capable of playing as the middle centre-back in a three if O’Connor is unavailable.
I have one caveat over this final priority signing, which is Richardson’s intentions with Dorsett. I presume he’ll primarily be a back-up for Roberts at left-back, but if he’s seen as more of a centre-back in the future, then I’d swap ‘another centre-back’ for ‘another left-back’ (John Ryan’s injury record means he probably can’t be fully relied on just yet). If we bring in such a player, they should preferably be versatile enough to play as a full-back or a wing-back.
Anything else?
5) It’d be a big bonus if Reading can, as well as the Doyle replacement, bring in another number 10. To build on what I said above, the difference between having a dedicated playmaker in the side and not having one was so stark last season – and it stands to reason that signing a backup would make sense.
This is the exception to my ‘Reading generally don’t need to bring in young, raw, longer-term talent in any position this summer’ rule. If we are to invest in a backup number 10, it doesn’t really make sense to loan someone in for a season or to splash out on another established option – better to find a cheaper understudy that can be developed, and I don’t see an obvious candidate in the academy at the moment.
There could be scope to bring in a talented but inexperienced playmaker on a permanent deal from a big Premier League club. Think of Michael Craig (Tottenham Hotspur, 2022), Charlie Savage (Manchester United, 2023), Ben Elliott (Chelsea, 2023) or Scofield Lonmeni-Dekam (Liverpool, 2026) as varied prior examples of Reading trying this.
Alternatively, I’d be keen on Reading bringing back Elliott himself. Although he was released at the end of last season, the retained list included the information that “the club will continue to support [him] with rehabilitation” and Richardson had previously noted a deal could happen, depending on fitness. There has however been no word on Elliott since May, nor has he been pictured in early preseason photos or footage, so my hopes are probably wide of the mark.
6) Reading may need to bring in a backup striker, but it’s contingent on what happens with Patton. If he has a particularly strong preseason – and he may well do, given his goalscoring form on loan at Aldershot earlier this year – you could see him forcing his way into the first-team picture for 2026/27. Then again, Reading may prefer to loan him out again for regular first-team football.
As things stand I’d prefer the latter, and if that happens, Reading will need to delve into the market. I’m not talking about another first-team option, but rather someone who can add the depth which was so conspicuous by its absence last season.
I’m relaxed about the kind of player this would be, but it’d make sense for them to be a different profile to the other options. For instance, if we were to buy Nombe (more mobile), this second centre-forward should probably be a more physically imposing target man. Variety is the spice of life, and all that.
There’s no need to overspend or to rush into this signing – Reading could afford to bide their time and see what options are out there. Perhaps it would be a free agent or someone who becomes surplus to requirements at another club later in the window.
7) On a similar ‘see what options are out there’ note, the cherry on top of this summer’s recruitment would be another first-team-quality winger. This isn’t a priority as Reading already have four options (Lisbie, Kyerewaa, Randell Williams and Paddy Lane) and the focus should be on getting as much quality and game time out of them as possible.
I’m a touch worried about how consistent they’ll actually be though. Lisbie’s making the step up from League Two, Kyerewaa blew hot and cold in his first season, Williams had injury troubles and Lane was a big disappointment after moving from Portsmouth – and he doesn’t seem that good a fit for Richardson’s 4-2-3-1/3-2-4-1 system anyway.
There’s no point bringing in another winger for the sake of it – there are youngsters in the academy who can be used as extra depth, such as Osho. If a feasible opportunity arises at some point to upgrade in this department though, let’s take it.
8) The final order of business could well end up being one of the bigger stories of Reading’s summer. Charlie Savage was strongly linked with an exit in January and, seeing as his contract expires next year, he’s likely to be sold this summer, which naturally would necessitate the signing of another first-team-quality central midfielder.
While I’d be sad to see Savage go after three committed years in Berkshire, and it would be tough to replace someone who’s been one of the first names on the team sheet for a while now, it’d also create an opportunity to rework the midfield a little bit.
Reading would have the space to recruit a slightly different kind of partner for Wing, and I’d like to see us find a physical ball-winner who can drive forwards in possession. Being good technically would be a nice bonus, but the focus should be on complimenting Wing, protecting the back four and allowing others further up the pitch to play.
That’s basically Rinomhota, granted, but really we need someone younger and more durable. After all, there’s a big drop-off between Savage’s League One minutes last season (3,481) and Rinomhota’s (117). Getting cash for Savage would put Reading in a position to properly invest in a long-term successor in the prime of their career.
In summary
So to sum up, Reading need to sign…
- A centre-back (first-team quality)
- Another centre-back (depth)
- A number 10 (first-team-quality)
- A striker (first-team-quality)
…and would do well to also bring in…
- Another number 10 (depth)
…while keeping their eyes open for…
- A winger (first-team-quality)
…and may need to sign…
- A central midfielder to replace Savage if he’s sold (first-team-quality)
- A striker to replace Patton if he’s loaned out (depth)
That seems like a lot of additions on the face of it: two made already, with between four and eight still to come in by my count. With Dez Williams and Ritchie retiring though, and two more potentially going, you get to a net total of half a dozen signings – pretty much what Couhig and Jacobson have said.
Doing all of the above would leave Reading’s squad looking something like this…
With all that said, now watch Reading go off and do something completely different in the transfer market.
