The transfer race for Reading FC player heats up with January deadline looming | OneFootball

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Football League World

·21 January 2022

The transfer race for Reading FC player heats up with January deadline looming

Article image:The transfer race for Reading FC player heats up with January deadline looming

The 25-year-old has struggled to make a meaningful impact at the Select Car Leasing Stadium this season, scoring just once in 25 competitive appearances and has struggled playing as a lone man up top for Veljko Paunovic’s men.

He was called upon in the absence of Lucas Joao earlier in the season, although the short-term signing of former England international Andy Carroll consigned him to place on the bench for much of the previous couple of months.


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The Romanian international was back in the starting lineup in midweek after the expiration of Carroll’s contract, with the 33-year-old’s deal in Berkshire expiring after last weekend’s game against Middlesbrough.

However, the return of Lucas Joao from his injury, with the Portuguese forward coming off the bench in the Royals’ last two matches, could mean he’s turfed out of the starting lineup yet again with manager Paunovic keen to operate with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

With this and the 25-year-old likely to be one of the club’s highest earners as their record signing, he could be on his way out of the Select Car Leasing Stadium between now and the end of the month as the second-tier outfit look to balance the books.

Italian second-division outlet Pisa are reported to have identified the Romanian as a potential alternative to Sampdoria’s Ernesto Torregrossa as they look to strengthen their attack, just one of several teams to be linked with the Reading forward this month.

Anderlecht are also keen on a potential move according to journalist Emanuel Rosu.

The Verdict:

There seems to be a lot of rumours flying around about Puscas at this moment in time – but a move doesn’t seem close at this stage and it may be difficult to offload the forward considering his poor form.

However, it’s clear the Royals aren’t utilising him in the right way as a lone man, because he would undoubtedly thrive more with an attacking partner and this is why the return of Joao may come as a boost to him, allowing Paunovic to play two up front.

Even with this potential tactical tweak though, his confidence probably isn’t the highest at this moment in time and this is why a move away could be the right move for both Reading and the player.

His contract isn’t due to expire until 2023 so it isn’t as if he can run down his deal and grit his teeth until the end of the season. It does remain to be seen whether a club make a formal approach to take the striker off the English side’s hands though.

And if they can get an offer in the region of £2m, despite spending a club-record fee on him, then it surely has to be worth concluding that deal. But on one condition: they will need to bring in a replacement to provide depth.

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