Veljko Paunovic confirms contract talks with key Reading FC figure after previous Nottingham Forest interest | OneFootball

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Football League World

·5 December 2021

Veljko Paunovic confirms contract talks with key Reading FC figure after previous Nottingham Forest interest

Article image:Veljko Paunovic confirms contract talks with key Reading FC figure after previous Nottingham Forest interest

Reading manager Veljko Paunovic has confirmed the club are currently in talks with Tom Holmes’ representatives regarding a potential contract extension, making this revelation to the Reading Chronicle’s Benjy Nurick.

The 21-year-old has stepped up impressively for the Royals in recent weeks, starting in his side’s five of their last six matches and performing well despite not being able to keep a clean sheet in any of those games.


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He capped off a successful individual spell by scoring the Berkshire outfit’s opener against Hull City yesterday afternoon with an exquisite overhead kick, with the second-tier side’s academy graduate claiming his first ever senior goal for the club and remaining reasonably solid at the back.

Quiz: Has Lucas Joao ever scored a goal for Reading at each of these 26 stadiums?

This was despite considerable pressure from the Tigers in the first half – and yesterday’s hosts at the Select Car Leasing Stadium were only undone by a rare Luke Southwood error early on in the second 45 to prevent what would have been a well-earned clean sheet for young defender Holmes.

He has seemingly benefitted from the experience of summer addition Scott Dann, but was the subject of interest in the previous transfer window himself, with second-tier rivals Nottingham Forest reprtedly launching a £1.5m bid for his services.

That bid was rebuffed by officials in Berkshire, and despite his contract running out at the club at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, he is reportedly keen to sign fresh terms with his boyhood club after establishing himself as a regular first-teamer last season.

Manager Paunovic confirmed in his post-match press conference yesterday that the club were in talks with the defender’s representatives with a view to extending his contract, a decision that is likely to be popular amongst the fanbase.

The Verdict:

Even with the defender playing well and restrictions limiting the wage they will be able to offer the centre-back with the need to cut costs, it would be hard to see Holmes leaving the Select Car Leasing Stadium in the summer.

Like fellow defender Tom McIntyre, who signed an extension with the club in the summer, he is a local boy and has probably been dreaming of becoming a first-team player at the club ever since he was little.

He has the potential to step up to the Premier League in the future, but whilst he’s still young and thriving with his current side, he won’t want to end his journey at the club just yet and will probably spend at least one or two more seasons in Berkshire after the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign.

The 21-year-old staying will be a major boost for the Royals who have seen the likes of Omar Richards and Michael Olise leave in recent months – and will allow them to maximise the revenue they can generate from his potential sale if he puts pen to paper on a long-term deal.

Making sure they can maximise the value of their most prized assets will be important for a side that have failed to do so in recent years – and that has played a part in why they haven’t been able to comply with the EFL’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

Fans of the Berkshire outfit will be looking to hold on to Holmes for as long as they can though and who could blame them?

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