17-cap international became Reading FC cult hero despite limited appearances: View | OneFootball

Nelson Oliveira may not have appeared that many times for the Royals, but he established himself as a cult hero in Berkshire.

Reading FC were in desperate need of reinforcements back in January 2019.

They may have made some signings during the summer of 2018, but Jose Gomes needed the opportunity to put his stamp on the club after being appointed Paul Clement's successor at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The Royals were in relegation danger at that point and needed some fresh faces to give themselves the best opportunity of surviving.

But after a high-spending period, the Berkshire side couldn't afford to fork out too much on permanent additions, and they ended up making full use of the loan market instead.

All five loan signings during January 2019 proved to be very shrewd additions.

A goalkeeper was needed during that winter window and they managed to bring one in, with Emiliano Martinez coming in from Arsenal.

His loan spell in Berkshire was the catalyst for the success he has enjoyed since, with the Argentinian proving to be a real asset for the Royals before going on to win the World Cup with Argentina and become a real asset at Aston Villa.

Matt Miazga was also a very good addition and performed well during the second half of the 2018/19 campaign.

He even did enough to earn a loan return to Berkshire and can be pleased with his contributions.

Lewis Baker, meanwhile, was a real game-changer in the middle of the park.

Playing in a deep role, he played a big part in the success that the Royals enjoyed during the first half of 2019, with his contributions helping the club to avoid relegation to League One.

Ovie Ejaria was also excellent and went on to sign for the club permanently while Nelson Oliveira will be remembered fondly for his goals.

Oliveira didn't play that often for the Royals and only made 10 appearances in the end.

With the other loanees featuring more regularly, many people will think he's the loan player who's likely to be least remembered.

However, he was able to get himself on the scoresheet three times, scoring against Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town.

These strikes helped the Royals to win extra points in their quest to stay up and he proved to be a shrewd temporary acquisition, something that was to be expected considering he had a good CV before making the temporary move to the SCL Stadium.

Nelson Oliveira established himself as a real cult hero at Reading FC

Oliveira still enjoyed some very memorable moments for the Royals despite his limited appearances.

His debut goal against Bolton from the penalty spot helped the Berkshire side to secure a point.

In the next game, they faced Villa, and the former Portugal international had his face stamped on by Tyrone Mings during that clash.

This injury ruled him out of the next game, but he returned not too long after to face Blackburn, this time with a face mask.

Scoring the winning goal that night, his strike was a key part of the story in the Royals' fight against the drop, and he also scored in a crucial 2-1 win against Ipswich Town the following month.

Oliveira was on loan from Norwich City at that point and he took the opportunity to celebrate right in front of the Ipswich fans, which was a very memorable moment.

It's a shame for him that he was unable to build on this and score more goals during the latter stages of his loan spell, but he was on the sidelines for part of it.

Thankfully, the Royals were able to survive regardless of this and the striker created plenty of positive memories for the Royals' fanbase.

He may have only spent a brief period at the club, but was one-fifth of the fantastic five that came in during the 2019 winter window and it was a shame that the club were unable to recruit him permanently in the end.