The Royals have made their fourth January addition today, buying Benn Ward from League Two side Accrington Stanley. He joins loanees Will Keane and Ryan Nyambe, as well as fellow permanent arrival Haydon Roberts, in being recruited by the Royals this month.
Ward, 22, is a left-footed centre-back who’s started to make a name for himself in the fourth tier this season. His individual stats demonstrate just how well rounded a player he is, ranking well not only on metrics covering defending and passing,
but also dribbling and crossing.
His form led to rumours of a transfer higher up the pyramid, with Reading and Wigan Athletic both reportedly interested in bringing him in. However, the Royals ultimately got a deal done for a fee apparently in the region of £500,000.
That figure seems a little steep given Ward was due to be out of contract in the summer, so the reporting may be wide of the mark or the £500,000 could include future add-ons. Then again, it might simply be the case that Reading were really keen on getting their man.
Whatever the financial outlay, Reading have invested in a young, talented and relatively inexpensive (in the grand scheme of things) player who can hopefully develop in the long run and have a much bigger resale value further down the line. In that regard, Ward’s arrival is similar to that of Roberts, Daniel Kyerewaa and Paddy Lane, who were 23, 23 and 24 respectively when they joined on permanent deals this season.
In the short term Ward’s got a few players to compete with at centre-back. Narrowing Reading’s options in this department down to fellow left-footers specifically, Jeriel Dorsett started against Barnsley on Saturday, while Derrick Williams has been one of our better performers this season but has struggled with injury.
Otherwise, left-footed Haydon Roberts can play here but started as a full-back at home to the Tykes. Paudie O’Connor, Finley Burns and Michael Stickland are right-footed options. Add in all those players and, on the face of it, getting another centre-back in probably didn’t seem that much of a priority.
However, that extra bit of numerical security is always a good idea when it comes to centre-backs – a key position – and Reading’s depth here is fairly brittle. A couple of those players are needed at left-back, some have had injury problems this season, and squad option Stickland hasn’t really convinced when starting in the league.
There’s also real tactical value to recruiting a technically good, left-footed centre-back. Reading effectively play a back three in possession, and being able to put someone on the left side of that trio who’s operating on their stronger foot makes distribution from deeper areas that bit more fluid and balanced.
The Royals haven’t been able to replicate the quality in possession of the Amadou Mbengue/Tyler Bindon pairing from last season. Hopefully adding into the defence Ward – seemingly good at passing and bringing the ball upfield – will help rectify this area of the team.
