Reading FC will have no regrets on Euro 2024 player decision despite current Ruben Selles issue: View | OneFootball

The decision to offload George Puscas permanently is one that the Royals won't regret, despite their current lack of attacking depth.

League One outfit Reading may be keeping an eye on George Puscas during Euro 2024.

Puscas, who previously played for the Royals, came on as a substitute in Romania's 3-0 win against Ukraine on Monday.

The forward wasn't just any ordinary addition for the Berkshire outfit though. He was their record signing back in 2019, joining for a reported £8m from Inter Milan.

He looked as though he was going to be worth every penny on his debut for the Royals, scoring a brace against Cardiff City and making a great first impression at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Also registering a five-minute hat-trick away at Wigan Athletic during his debut season with the Berkshire club, the Romanian didn't have the worst first season at the club, even though he was criticised at times.

However, he struggled for much of the remainder of his stay with the Royals and was sent out on loan to Pisa and Genoa before joining the latter permanently.

Having struggled at the SCL Stadium, he will be keen to make a real impression at both a domestic and international level in the coming years.

Current Royals boss Ruben Selles would have been hoping to see a takeover materialise at the SCL Stadium by now.

But it doesn't seem as though a sale is imminent at this point and that's likely to mean that no signings will be happening either, which is an issue for Selles.

There are a number of positions that need strengthening during the summer transfer window - and the striker department is one of those.

They may have Sam Smith, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan and Jayden Wareham as striker options, but Ehibhatiomhan was more effective on the wing during the latter stages of the season and Wareham doesn't have a huge amount of senior experience under his belt.

Wareham is clearly a talented youngster, but he may need more time in the academy before he can make the full-time step-up to the senior squad, so another striker or two will probably be required before the end of August.

With their current striker issue in mind, the Royals could have benefitted from still having Puscas at their disposal.

Reading FC won't regret George Puscas' departure

Puscas could have been a decent asset for the Royals in League One.

However, there are numerous reasons why the club won't regret offloading him permanently.

Firstly, he was probably on a fairly high wage after joining for a club-record fee, so offloading his wages permanently was the right option.

And in the process of offloading him, they were able to generate a reported €3m for his signature, which is a very decent amount considering how poor Puscas was at times during his stay in Berkshire.

And on the pitch, there were no guarantees that the Romanian would have been a success.

He struggled to play up front on his own and with Selles enjoying much more success with a 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 system than a 4-2-2-2, Puscas may have continued to under-perform.

It's safe to say that a lot of fans had lost patience with the striker by the time he left permanently too, so there would have been a huge amount of pressure on him to perform well.

That wouldn't have helped his performance levels and with his contract in Berkshire expiring this summer, Selles' side would have risked the possibility of losing their record signing for free if they had kept hold of him.

Now, the Royals need to look to the future and get a takeover deal over the line as quickly as possible, so they can sign a striker who can compete for Smith's starting spot.