Historic Reading FC and QPR beef just feels ridiculous when you watch Crystal Palace now | OneFootball

Highlights

It can be easy for fans to get ahead of themselves when comparing their clubs' upcoming talent and it was no different for Reading FC and Queens Park Rangers fans, who fiercely compared Ovie Ejaria and Eberechi Eze during the 2019/20 season.

At the time, both players were England U21 internationals and looked incredibly promising in their early spells at the club.

Two exciting players, both able to dribble in tight spaces and get the crowd off their feet, they were being compared early on in their careers by their devoted fanbases.

But given the comparative success of Eze in the Premier League to Ejaria at Reading now, who has not featured for the Royals since the 2-0 defeat at Watford in 2022 due to injury troubles and 'commitment issues', it's crazy to think how differently their careers have panned out since then.

We take a look at how their contrasting careers have developed since the 2019/20 season...

Why did people compare Eze and Ejaria?

To set the scene, Ejaria had just re-joined Reading on loan from Liverpool in 2019 as a promising young talent, having impressed in his first spell with the Royals.

His England U21 teammate Eze was coming off the back of an exciting season with QPR and, like Ejaria, was one to watch in the Championship.

The pair both started the 2019/20 season in fine form and were being fiercely compared between both sets of fans as the campaign grew on.

However, by the end of the season, which was broken up by the Covid-19 Pandemic, it would be Eze that gained the larger share of plaudits from fans and media alike, even earning himself a place in the PFA team of the year.

The following summer, . Meanwhile, Ejaria was still plying his trade at Reading in the Championship.

How is Eze getting on at Crystal Palace?

Since his move to the Eagles in 2020, Eze has made 105 appearances for the club in three seasons and has been one of the most exciting players in the Premier League.

Last season, the 25-year-old featured in all 38 games for Palace and has recently been more involved with the England first-team set-up, making his Three Lions debut against Malta in June this year.

A whole host of top clubs, such as Manchester City.

Much different to Eze, Ejaria is still on the books of Reading, who are playing their first season in League One since their relegation from the Championship last season.

Whilst his club are currently struggling in the third tier of English football, sitting 23rd in League One, 25-year-old Ejaria hasn't been involved for the club since November 2022.

Injury troubles towards the end of the 2021/22 season began the downwards spiral of the former Liverpool youngster's career and he hasn't been able to display his talent on the pitch since.

Just last week, Reading boss Ruben Selles spoke out on Ejaria, detailing the 25-year-old's current situation at the club.

"Right now with Ovie is a personal circumstance for him so he’s having some time out," said Selles. "He’s been taking some personal days. He has individual situation so has had some freedom so has not been training fully with us. He won’t be ready for a couple of weeks at least."

"The situation with him was complicated before I arrived. We had a player that first of all was injured then didn’t show any commitment for the club,' Selles went on to say. “In the world of football there are players from two years ago that were amazing and now they are not playing football anymore. In two years a lot of things can happen. We can have examples from other players."

In truth, the signs in the 2019/20 season were there, with Eze posting 14 more goal involvements in the season. Looking at where the two players are in their careers now, it's quite remarkable they were ever mentioned in the same breath.