Reading FC cast eyes over luckless 24-year-old - West Brom supporter hoping to see him "kick on now" | OneFootball

Former Baggies defender Nathan Ferguson is on trial at Reading

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Former West Bromwich Albion defender Nathan Ferguson is on trial at Reading after John Mousinho decided not to sign him after the player trained with his Portsmouth side since February.

The 24-year-old once looked destined for a bright future at The Hawthorns, but has endured a very tough time with injuries since his exit to Crystal Palace five years ago.

As per the Reading Chronicle, the Royals are interested in securing a deal for Ferguson.

Nathan Ferguson's time at West Brom was a "real shame"

FLW's resident Baggies Fan Pundit, Callum Burgess, expressed his disappointment at how Nathan Ferguson's career has developed since leaving his boyhood club.

"I think it’s a real shame how Nathan Ferguson’s career has panned out to date," Burgess told FLW.

"When he broke from the 19/20 season, man of the match in his first game against Nottingham Forest, it did look like he was a really promising talent and that first half of the campaign where he was fully fit he did look really, really good," he added.

Ferguson's breakthrough - and only - season in the West Midlands saw him make 21 appearances for the club during their promotion-winning season.

Burgess fondly recalls the then-teenager's first Albion goal. "I remember being in the QPR away end when he scored his first goal and the feeling around him was that he looked like he was going to be a really talented player," he said.

That strike came in September 2019. Ferguson carried the ball from within his own half at left-back before drilling a 30-yard effort into the bottom corner of Joe Lumley's goal. He was the youngest player since Chris Wood in 2009 to score for the club.

The "halting point" for Nathan Ferguson

Before Ferguson joined Palace in the summer of 2020, they were going to sign him for an initially agreed £11m fee that January - but found a knee issue that was serious enough for them to pull out of the deal.

"Obviously, he nearly moved to Palace in the January for a decent fee, but something came up in the medical, which has been the real halting point for his career, sadly, and he’s not really recovered from that to date," Burgess added.

"He’s never made a senior appearance for Palace, or didn’t play many games for them during his spell there because of that injury - he’s not been able to recover from that fully."

Ferguson made just one first-team appearance for Palace - a brief substitute appearance against Tottenham on Boxing Day in 2021. The Eagles decided against renewing his contract when it expired four years later.

Hope for a fresh start at Reading after Portsmouth snub

Following his Palace exit, Ferguson spent time training with Portsmouth from February this year. Despite impressing during pre-season friendlies and never missing a day of training, John Mousinho decided against offering him a contract.

Burgess remains hopeful that Ferguson can finally get his career back on track at Reading, where he is on trial: "But, hopefully, he is able to turn his career around. I did hear he was training with Portsmouth for a bit, but unfortunately, he couldn’t get a contract there and now obviously he’s training with Reading.

"Hopefully he does end up signing, and he’s able to go and kick on now," Burgess concluded.

For Albion fans like Burgess, Ferguson's situation would certainly create a 'what if?' scenario in their minds about how he'd have played for them if he didn't turn down the offer of a new contract.