Italian side enter transfer race for Reading man | OneFootball

Reading striker George Puscas has found himself in-demand this summer, with newly-promoted Serie A side Salernitana joining Turkish outfit Kasimpasa in the race for his signature.

That is according to journalist Emanuel Rosu, who believes that the Italian team have already had a bid rejected for the Romanian international but are going to press on with a second offer, although it’s unknown as to whether it is for a permanent or temporary move.

Puscas became the Royals’ club-record signing in the summer of 2019 for €8 million from Inter Milan and went on to fire in 14 goals in his debut season at the Madejski Stadium.

The 25-year-old found himself on the sidelines for much of the 2020-21 campaign though, scoring four times in 18 Championship appearances and he was restricted to mainly appearances from the substitute bench with free-scoring Lucas Joao favoured in a lone striker role.

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Super Lig outfit Kasimpasa came in with a loan move for the 23-cap international late last week, but Puscas turned it down, leaving his Reading future uncertain as the club look to manage their finances after being hit with a transfer embargo due to breaching the Profit and Sustainability guidelines.

The Verdict

It’s somewhat of a surprise that Reading seem willing to let Puscas go – he was a big investment and scored 14 times in his debut season but obviously Lucas Joao became the leading man last season.

In Veljko Paunovic’s system there’s only room for one striker most of the time, and you get the feeling that neither Joao or Puscas will be happy with being second choice.

And because of his decent scoring record for Romania on the international stage, Puscas could probably field offers from a number of nations and even though he didn’t fancy the move to Turkey, a return to Italy where he’s spent the majority of his career could be tempting.

A move to the Serie A, where he has played before for both Inter and Benevento, could be very appealing and it seems far more likely than a move anywhere else at this point.