The Royals have reinforced their defensive department today, bringing in Conor Masterson. The 27-year-old centre-back had been a free agent following his departure from League Two side Gillingham at the end of last season. He’s agreed a contract until January 2027.
If the name’s a little bit familiar to you, it’s probably because he’d been on trial with Reading earlier in the summer. In fact, he was the only first-team triallist the Royals used in the pre-season just gone – making the last few months
a far cry from the days when we saw seemingly dozens of players given opportunities to impress.
He was thrown into the starting XI for the friendly at Charlton Athletic somewhat surprisingly, due to an illness outbreak that ruled out Paudie O’Connor. Masterson (whose identity went public when he was accidentally named on commentary) played most of the game before being replaced by youngster Philip Duah.
That had seemingly been that on the possibility of Masterson being given a contract. Though he was spotted watching the Wycombe Wanderers EFL Trophy game (August 18) alongside other squad members from the West Stand, it was reported that he wouldn’t sign for Reading and was “just training”.
However, Pete O’Rourke reported a week later (August 24) that Masterson was set to sign on a short-term deal. The deal was confirmed on August 25, with manager Leam Richardson saying:
“Conor initially came in to train with us, help us with numbers and keep himself fit. He’s been excellent since he walked through the door. His attitude, his professionalism and the level he’s shown every day in training have really impressed us and over that period the situation has developed.
“He’s earned this opportunity. He’s got a lot of experience and he’s a very good character to have around the group. We’re pleased that we’ve been able to get something agreed with him through to January and he gives us another strong option defensively.”
How does Masterson fit in?
At time of writing it’s unclear whether Masterson is earmarked as Reading’s only defensive reinforcement for the rest of the window. If that is the case then it’d be underwhelming. The Royals could use another defender on top of Masterson (another centre-back for me), and ideally one who’s a safer option than Masterson.
While he has some experience at League One and even Championship level, Masterson’s spent most of his career in League Two, being on the books of Gillingham permanently for the last three years. He’d previously had two separate loan spells at the same club (he must really love Kent).
Availability is a concern too. Masterson has only beaten 20 league appearances in a single season twice in his career: 41 in 2023/24 and 24 in 2024/25. He played just 754 minutes across 12 league appearances last season, having been sidelined for four months – the longest injury of his career.
That said, there’s clearly a decent player in there. That 41-game 2023/24 campaign was a particularly good one for Masterson, who was named Gillingham’s player of the season. Plus, he must be rated by Richardson when you consider he’s been around the club for around a month now.
How good this signing is will, for me, depend on how Masterson fits into the pecking order. As an experienced, fourth-choice back-up he’s a decent enough signing. No complaints from me. But as a third choice who Reading may need to rely on if O’Connor and/or Benn Ward are unavailable, I’m not so sure.
At time of writing, there’s an ongoing link with Dan Scarr of Wrexham – a player Reading were rumoured to be interested in last summer. As a centre-back with a stronger pedigree than Masterson (getting promoted from League One previously and being on the books of a Championship side), and better availability, he’d be someone to provide more convincing cover and/or competition for O’Connor and Ward.
Another element in play is the string of youth options available to Richardson at centre-back. Boyd Beacroft is surely top of that pile, having done well in the Wycombe game, while Philip Duah also was used quite a bit in pre-season and Abraham Kanu (a touch more experienced) is due to return from injury.
One of those players could conceivably be Reading’s fourth-choice centre-back. I’d personally prefer the greater security of another more experienced option – we wouldn’t want to have to rely on a young defender in a mini injury crisis. Plus, signing Masterson and one more centre-back would give us greater flexibility to loan youngsters out.
