With just over four months until deals expire, Reading currently have 11 first-team players out of contract in the summer. But who should they offer new deals to and who should the Royals let go?
Jeriel Dorsett: Offer new deal
Despite his injury concerns, I would offer Dorsett a new contract because he is still only 23 and has already mustered up 132 appearances in his senior career. He originally came through as a centre-back but has now transitioned to left-back, originally under Ruben Selles.
Dorsett gives the side versatility,
being able to play left-back and centre-back as well as being comfortable in a back-three system and a back four.
The only worry with Dorsett is his injury record, which had limited him to just 16 appearances last season, but this season he has already featured 34 times, so fingers crossed he can stay fit and keep improving.
Andy Yiadom: Release
This is the one I struggled the most with. Andy Yiadom is a previous club captain, being with us since 2017 and playing 250 games for the side, seeing us go from fighting for promotion to the Premier League to near liquidation.
The reason why I opted for release is Yiadom has lost a touch of pace and does not have the same mobility he had previously in his career. These two factors of Yiadom’s game were huge to his success in his early years at the club.
Despite this, Yiadom has still done well when coming into the side this season, but with the young options now coming through the club, I feel the time is right to wave goodbye to a player who is the closest thing we have had to a club legend post-Covid.
We did get a glimpse of the old Yiadom at Burton Albion away, but with the plethora of options at the club, the time and funds could be used elsewhere to strengthen the team.
Kelvin Abrefa: Offer new deal
One of the younger options coming through is Abrefa. He made his debut in the 2021/22 season and has featured 80 times so far in his Reading career, and still only 22 – similar to Dorsett – he still has plenty of time ahead of him.
Again like Dorsett, Abrefa can play in multiple positions, covering both right-back and left-back, giving Leam Richardson options if the squad is ever stuck in an injury crisis.
Another reason I have decided to renew Abrefa is because his importance to the side has grown every season, with Abrefa featuring in more and more games, currently having played five fewer matches than last season, with seven fixtures left to go.
Andy Rinomhota: Release
I’m sure Andy Rinomhota is still a quality footballer, but one of the best abilities is availability, and we have not seen him nearly as much this season as the fans would have hoped when his signing was announced, having featured just once this season.
Andy Rinomhota is still only 28 so he should be entering his prime, but having also pulled out of the Africa Cup of Nations due to personal reasons, this writer can only hope we as fans can see more of Rinomhota in the run-in (which looks unlikely).
Mamadi Camara: Release
Camara featured heavily for the Royals in the final years of the Dai Yongge dynasty, but since the takeover happened and Reading were free to make signings, he’s found himself stuck in the under-21s.
Now 22, Camara hasn’t featured for the first team since coming off the bench in a 2-0 win over Burton on New Year’s Day, and has found himself limited to bench appearances for the under-21s, most recently an unused substitute against West Ham United.
Camara has played 75 times for the first team but, having not featured since January 1 and now struggling for minutes in the under-21s as a 22-year-old, I think it’s clear to see the staff have already made their minds up on Camara and he’ll be let go come the end of the season.
Ben Elliott: Offer new deal
Elliott’s case is a weird one: when he’s featured he’s shown there is ability there, but we haven’t seen the output we would have hoped for as a fanbase from the Chelsea academy graduate.
He hasn’t played for Reading since October 25, with injury keeping him away from the side, but at 23 he could be worth the gamble, offering him another one-year deal with appearance-based bonuses.
Elliott has played 79 times for the Royals but has only featured 13 times this season, due to the aforementioned injury.
Despite the fact I have chosen to offer Elliott a new deal, I would not be shocked or too disheartened to see him released come the end of the year. However, if we can keep his wages low and retain him on a short-term deal to assess his development post-injury, I believe there is still a player in there that Reading can benefit from.
Tivonge Rushesha: Release
Rushesha, similarly to Camara, raked up his Reading appearances in the final years of the Dai Yongge era before losing his place this season to new signings and being sent back into the under-21s.
He hasn’t played in the league for the first team so far this season and has only featured five times over the course of 2025/26 so far. At the age of 23, being stuck in the under-21s with the club already having good depth in both of Rushesha’s positions, there doesn’t seem to be a place for him at Reading anymore.
A move following the expiration of his deal looks to be the best option for both club and player, allowing Rushesha to get the game time he has desperately been lacking in his career so far.
Michael Stickland: Release
Stickland has featured 21 times for Reading since making his debut five years ago, but currently finds himself out on loan at local National League South side Farnborough, where he has played eight times so far.
At 22 years old, Stickland currently finds himself out on loan three divisions below the first team. That, paired up with the depth Reading have at centre-back, leaves him sixth choice if he stays next season.
This all leaves me struggling to see a space for him in the squad going into next season and beyond.
Abraham Kanu: Offer new deal
Kanu has spent the entirety of 2025/26 out on loan at Robbie Savage’s Forest Green Rovers in the National League, where he has played 31 times in FGR’s playoff-chasing campaign.
The 20 year-old has featured 16 times for the Royals, with all his appearances coming last season, but he has impressed out on loan, seeing his market value rise as a result.
Kanu offers the Royals another option at centre-back but, with the Royals already overloaded in this position, another loan looks to be likely.
Reading have a number of ageing players at centre-back, so Kanu gives the Royals a longer-term option if they choose to renew. There is also the possibility of selling Kanu on to help pay for new signings if the club don’t want to keep him around for the future.
Basil Tuma: Release
Tuma is currently on loan in the National League South at fellow Berkshire side Slough Town, so far playing eight games and scoring twice. He’s featured 15 times for Reading’s senior side with one goal contribution to his name.
The Malta international struggled to make an impact in his limited minutes with the first team and, now 20, he is running out of time to make an impact on the coaching staff.
I would not be surprised to see Tuma get a new deal but I believe he has not shown enough in his appearances, and there are younger, more exciting talent such as Sean Patton and Kiyan Coke-Miles-Smith, just to name two.
I believe the time and resources should be given to these younger players and getting them up to the ability required for the first team as, since they are younger, there is more room for development and potential profit.
John Ryan: Release
Ryan plays in a position Reading have recently recruited in, signing Haydon Roberts for an undisclosed fee in the January transfer window. This, combined with Richardson’s fondness of Dorsett, does not leave much room for a 22-year-old left-back who is still mainly utilised in the under-21s.
Ryan has made six senior Reading appearances in his career after coming over to Berkshire following time in his native Ireland at UCD and a spell with Sassoulo in Italy.
Injuries have played a massive part in Ryan’s career already, including a current long-term one, which has limited his first-team opportunities.
This injury record, plus new signings being made to a position the manager looks happy with, doesn’t leave a place at the club for the young Irishman unfortunately.
This is what I would do if you told me I had to choose who gets to stay and who Reading should release, but who would you keep and who would you let go?
Did I release someone who should have stayed? Am I keeping someone who has over-stayed their welcome?
