January is upon us and, as ever, Reading find themselves in a position where they have a few players with contracts due to expire soon. In the previous two January transfer windows, it was very much silly
season for Reading in terms of the personnel were snapped up by teams with more than mothballs in their wallets.
This season should (I hope this won’t come back to curse us) be different and we should now be in a stronger position to both keep away suitors from eyeing up our talent and also tie down the key players to longer-term deals.
Randell Williams has agreed an extension to his terms, and let’s hope the club are planning to act quickly to start getting some other deals penned sooner rather than later.
It’s not absolutely clear about some players and when their deals will expire, and for those, I’ll make sure to make a note as part of the review. It’s also worth noting that it’s very likely some of these players will have had one-year trigger options baked into their deals, which we might not know about until enacted. Loan signings won’t be included.
Here’s a list of those players in squad number order:
Kelvin Abrefa
Abrefa agreed a two-year deal in the summer of 2024, so his contract will run out in June unless the club do something about it. Which they absolutely should.
He seemed to be an immediate beneficiary in the squad when Leam Richardson was appointed, becoming first-choice right-back owing to his ability to get up and down the right wing quickly. He’s lost his place in recent games to Andy Yiadom, but the club should absolutely look to keep hold of him as he clearly has a high ceiling and, under the right coaching, can develop well with the Royals.
Jeriel Dorsett
He signed a new deal with the club in the summer for one year, which surprised me at first, but Sim quite rightly said at the time that this was likely owing to his unreliability at being available, due to his poor injury record. Dorsett then promptly got injured in the early part of the season to confirm Sim as prophetic.
Under Noel Hunt, it seemed the plan was to return him to his natural centre-back role, but since Richardson has come in and Matty Jacob got injured/dropped (delete as you believe applicable), he has been immovable from left-back.
As such, it’s hard to imagine the club won’t be looking to tie him down on longer terms given that, when he’s fit, he plays and usually is dependable. I would also be amazed if he didn’t have a one-year trigger waiting to be utilised either, but either way he’s someone we should be keeping.
Ben Elliott
Elliott’s time with Reading has made him somewhat of an enigma. He initially struggled to break into the team, until he then did and showed flashes of his quality. He then became one of the first names on the team sheet until injury wiped out the remainder of his 2024/25 season and has been on the fringes ever since then.
Or at least, until he disappeared when Richardson was hired. Presumably he’s injured, but it’s not entirely clear what his future will be given his injury record and our style not necessarily playing to his strengths.
I’d like to see him stay, as I think he could be a long-term successor to Lewis Wing in that deep-lying creative role.
However, with the likes of Liam Fraser and Andy Rinomhota being brought in and Tyler Sackey and Shay Spencer knocking on the door from the academy, Elliott has a challenge ahead of him to establish himself in a first-choice midfield.
It’s also sadly not untrue to say that, if he left, we wouldn’t struggle without him.
Tivonge Rushesha
I have to admit, I kind of forgot about Rushesha. He seems to be getting more of his game time with the under-21s at the moment, having broken through into the first team last year (admittedly at right-back).
However, I’m not sure if his absence from the first team is injured-enforced or optional to support the under-21s.
It’s possible there is a one-year trigger built into his deal, but I think at this stage, with our current manager preferring experience over youth, it’s unlikely we will see him break into the first team. As a result, it seems unlikely he’ll stay after the end of the season, as much as it is a shame to see a clearly popular member of the squad likely to depart.
Andy Yiadom
It must have been difficult for Yiadom in the summer: going from captain to second choice – perhaps even third choice – at right-back. However, being the classy kind of guy he is, he’s been positive, supported the team, remains a part of the leadership group and has recovered from injury to reclaim his place in the starting line-up.
He has added some flexibility into his game in recent years and we have seen him line up both at left-back and centre-back when we were short on numbers. His performances this season aren’t quite those we remember from when he was in his 20s, galloping up and down the touchline, but his knowledge of the game and reliability are still there, as is his skill.
It’s a tough decision to make: let him bow out of Reading on a high or give him one more year to see if he can continue the form. He’s earned the chance for the extra year, if you’re asking me.
Andy Rinomhota
A surprise signing back in November, Rino returned and… hasn’t really done a lot, truth be told. I think it’s something of a waiting game, both while he recovers match fitness and to find a way past the seemingly immovable pivot duo of Wing and Charlie Savage.
This one is based mostly on good vibes from his previous spell, but the fact he’s worked with Richardson before (and that he’s the kind of manager who likes those he knows) mean it’s likely we will work to try and keep him at the club for longer. Whether we can remains to be seen, as he may get an offer from higher up the leagues.
Andre Garcia
I’ve no idea when his contract expires, but given he’s 18 now, he’s likely no longer under the “schoolboy” ruling and his deal most likely will only run until the end of this season.
Frustratingly, he hasn’t played anywhere near enough after a break-out season last year, albeit an unfamiliar left-back role.
With so many of our right-wing options having injury problems this season, now should be the time to release this mercurial talent off the reigns and let him show what he can do in his more natural attacking home.
The club should be doing all they can to tie him down on a longgggggg contract. There will be riots if he is allowed to leave.
Michael Stickland
The start of the season held so much promise for Stickland: starting at centre-back owing to injuries and included as part of the “leadership” group for the first team, owing to his academy roots and being under-21s captain, it felt like he was about to kick on.
However, he struggled to maintain form in first-team football and was soon dropped. Now with the likes of the experienced Derrick Williams and Paudie O’Connor to contend with, he seems unlikely to break through into the first team, given Richardson’s disposition to younger players.
As a result, it’s hard to imagine him staying past the end of the season, unfortunately.
Basil Tuma
Similar to Stickland, Tuma had a promising pre-season owing to the fact that we had no strikers available to us and he had an accessory in abundance that the first team has in short supply: pace.
However, despite the fact the team still lacks pace and is not abundant with striking options, he’s only made the bench a couple of times and now finds himself out on loan at Slough Town.
This non-league loan spell could signal two things: the club want give him a development opportunity to toughen him up in preparation for first-team involvement or they don’t see him as the future and want to get him out in the shop window to raise marketable interest.
Currently, it very much like the second option for Tuma.
Mamadi Camara
Camara is an interesting case – he is capable of playing on either flank and is a tricky, skilful winger at his best. However, he feels like someone who would be better deployed as a 10.
Especially since, compared to last season, we’ve now brought in Matt Ritchie, Daniel Kyerewaa, Randell Williams and Paddy Lane as competition on the wings.
Also interestingly, Camara’s statistical output from last season in terms of goals and assists mirrors that of Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, though Ehibhatiomhan remains more in favour than Camara ever has – despite the statistical similarity.
Ultimately, it feels like Camara hasn’t really taken the opportunities that he has been presented and it is hard to imagine he will stay past the end of this season, unless something drastic changes in the second half of the season.
Tom Norcott
Third- or fourth-choice goalkeeper for the first team currently, Norcott’s out on loan at Enfield Town to gain experience, which makes sense, given Joel Pereira and Jack Stevens are rarely unavailable.
Much like Tuma, it feels like the loan spell is to allow the club to give him first-team experience in order to make a decision about whether he’s developing at a rate that means it makes sense for him to hang around.
It’s hard to be sure, but I’d imagine that, given his age (21) it will be a straight fight between him and Matt Rowley to stay at the club past the summer. I have no idea who is winning that battle, but Rowley has had slightly more first-team exposure. So there’s always that.
Abraham Kanu
Did you forget about Kanu? I certainly did. He looked primed to break through at some stage last season, but instead has been sent out on loan for the duration of 2025/26 at National League side Forest Green Rovers to gain first-team experience and is playing regularly.
He will turn 21 in July and therefore still be eligible for under-21s football for another year. He’s rated highly at academy level and he and Dorsett could be viable plans for developing a Derrick Williams replacement further down the line.
As a result, I’d imagine he’d be offered a new one-year deal at some stage leading up to the summer.
John Ryan
I kind of forgot about John Ryan too, which is a shame because a) he’s a left-back and we need one of those and b) he’s rather good. He has one hell of a left foot, which can deliver pinpoint set-pieces and crosses, and is also very handy with his right foot too. He likes to hug the touchline and drive forward. In summary: he sounds like an ideal Richardson full-back.
Unfortunately he’s injured at the moment, going off in the under-21s’ game against Birmingham City last month, but the duration of his time out is unknown. However, I’d love to see him given more time at first-team level when he’s back because there’s no sense going to market to bring in left-back cover when the option already exists within the squad.
Hopefully the club feel the same way and he will be offered a longer deal.
Tyler Sackey
He’s only just turned 19, so absolutely will be offered a new deal to continue playing and developing within the under-21s.
And he certainly should be, too. He’s a classy operator with the ball at his feet in the number 10 role, and we need more options like that.
Hopefully either some extended first-team exposure or (more likely) League Two loan experience is on the horizon for a player with bags of potential.
Jacob Borgnis
Another one whose loan spell feels like a bit of a make-or-break for his future with the team. The Tilehurst End have been following his development playing in Slough Town’s midfield and, while he seems at home there, the longer-term hope is that he can kick on and raise his level through this experience to show he belongs at a higher level.
My expectation is that he will get offered a one-year deal and another loan spell to League Two, or possibly a newly promoted side to League One, to kick on and stake a claim for more action in the Reading squad.
He clearly has something about him, given he can operate both in midfield and defence, and even has a Reading goal to his name this season, netting against West Ham United’s under-21s in the EFL Trophy.
Shay Spencer
Much like Tyler Sackey, except a year older and a defensive midfielder.
He oozes class and we’d be mad to not keep him around longer. Spencer deserves a loan spell out in League Two to get experience at first-team level, which will be great for both him and Reading, given our engine room needs players like him.
Matt Rowley
Search: Tom Norcott. Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V…
Third- or fourth-choice goalkeeper for the first team currently, Rowley’s out on loan at Hampton & Richmond Borough to gain experience, which makes sense, given Pereira and Stevens are rarely unavailable.
Much like Tuma, it feels like the loan spell is to allow the club to give him first-team experience in order to make a decision about whether he’s developing at a rate that means it makes sense for him to hang around.
It’s hard to be sure, but I’d imagine that, given his age (22) it will be a straight fight between him and Norcott to stay at the club past the summer. I have no idea who is winning that battle.
