Reading’s January search for a new centre-forward is over! Say hello to Will Keane, who’s arrived on a loan deal from Preston North End which will keep him here until the end of the season. There’s scope for that arrangement to soon become permanent, with the 33-year-old out of contract in the summer.
He’s surplus to requirements at Deepdale, having endured an injury-hit season thus far. A calf injury picked up against Queens Park Rangers in April 2025 ultimately kept him on the sidelines until December,
when he came off the bench to score against Norwich City – one of just two 2025/26 outings for him to this point.
So Preston get some wages off their books for half a season, while Reading get a very experienced striker as a back-up/alternative to Jack Marriott. Not only that, but Keane also has a strong relationship with Royals boss Leam Richardson; they worked together at Wigan Athletic during the Latics’ promotion-winning 2021/22 League One season.
Keane has generally jumped between the second and third tiers of English football during his career. Having started out in Manchester United’s academy, he had spells with Wigan, QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston before heading to Hull City on a permanent deal in 2016. Following a stint at Ipswich Town between 2019 and 2020, he returned to Wigan.
The three years he spent at Richardson’s Wigan constituted the best patch of his career. Having hit 10 goals in 32 league games in 2020/21, he ended 2021/22 as League One’s top goalscorer (26 in 44). A return of 12 in 43 for Wigan in the Championship the following season was a respectable return, given the Latics’ relegation to the third tier (alongside Reading).
Although he found the net pretty well in his first season back at Preston (13 in 38 Championship matches), he fell off in 2024/25, with just three goals in 27.
Still, he’s got a strong pedigree at this level and should be a reliable extra option up top. Reading have been in need of that as, when Marriott’s been absent, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s been inconsistent as a lone centre-forward and Mark O’Mahony just hasn’t got going. At the time of writing O’Mahony is still a Royals players, but could well be sent back to parent club Brighton & Hove Albion now Keane is on the books.
