Leeds and Crystal Palace never got what Reading FC did with transfer punt: View | OneFootball

Reading FC proved to be the making of Jimmy Kebe.

Joining from Lens back in January 2008, the Royals were unable to benefit from the Mali international straight away, with the winger failing to make too much of an impact during the early stages of his time in Berkshire.

But the club's relegation back in the spring of 2008 actually worked out well for Kebe, who saw the likes of John Oster and Glen Little leave the club during the same year.

Bobby Convey also left the club during the following year, making the move away from the Select Car Leasing Stadium during the 2008/09 campaign.

Jimmy Kebe's success at Reading FC

With those departures in mind, Kebe was always going to win more game time and he made 41 league appearances during 2008/09, registering two goals and 12 assists in the process.

That season gave him the confidence to continue thriving - and his goals and assists record for much of his stay in Berkshire was first class.

He had Brian McDermott to thank for this, with the ex-Arsenal man having full faith in the likes of him and Jobi McAnuff to get the better of Championship full-backs.

The 4-4-2 system helped to make McAnuff, Kebe and Hal Robson-Kanu crucial players, but McDermott had a clear emphasis on wing play, and that's no surprise considering the crossing ability of Ian Harte and the athleticism of Shaun Cummings, who improved a considerable amount during his stay with the Royals.

Cummings was disciplined enough not to venture forward at every opportunity - and this gave Kebe the license to express himself without worrying too much about his defensive responsibilities constantly.

Kebe was certainly at Reading at a very good time, with the club well-run at that point and not having a huge number of right-wing options, with Michail Antonio struggling for game time before his departure to Sheffield Wednesday and Garath McCleary only arriving in the summer of 2012.

Being promoted with them in April 2012, the ex-Mali man will be disappointed about the fact he was unable to keep them in the Premier League before his departure during the following year.

When Ian Holloway signed Kebe back for Crystal Palace back in the summer of 2013, he was only 29 and looked set to enjoy a successful time with the Eagles, who had just been promoted to the top flight at the time.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out for the winger, who made just 15 appearances in senior football following his arrival at Selhurst Park, with nine of them coming at loan club Leeds United.

He scored just once in the process - with the 40-year-old likely to have been extremely disappointed with how his professional career ended.

Even under old manager McDermott at Leeds, he failed to thrive at Elland Road, and ended up returning to Palace.

Released by the London outfit in 2015, he looked set to revive his career at Mallorca, but failed to make a single appearance in the end and retired.

Things worked out perfectly for him at the SCL Stadium for a number of reasons, with the crowd loving him and McDermott getting the best out of him. But he failed to replicate that after his time in Berkshire and ended his career on a poor note.