Reading FC handed clear transfer warning after Tom McIntyre and Tom Holmes situations | OneFootball

The Royals are suffering financially, and this has had a huge impact on the club in recent years with players being sold on the cheap.

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...

Reading's season has been defined by the difference between their actions on the pitch, and those that have been taken off it.

The Royals are enjoying, in isolation, an excellent campaign, with the team battling for a play-off finish with a young and inexperienced squad. Despite losing manager Ruben Selles to Hull City in December, they continue to be in a rich vein of form, and are surprising many.

However, behind the scenes, the situation continues to be confusing, frustrating and outright uneasy for supporters, players and the management team.

The January transfer window has threatened to derail the positivity that has come from their playing staff, and Reading's fans will have fears of a repeat of last year's window.

On multiple occasions throughout the season, there have been hopes that the ownership situation at the Select Car Leasing Stadiums would gain more clarity, and Dai Yongge's time at the club would come to an end, but these dreams have not come true yet.

Instead, it has left the Royals vulnerable to bids from others for some of their star players, something that will only damage the momentum that they have created over the course of the campaign.

When asked which one mistake his team should not repeat in the January transfer window, Football League World's Reading Fan Pundit, Johnny Hunt, said: "The biggest mistake our club can't repeat, hopefully, is having to get rid of players for small amounts of money, as we did in January last year with the likes of Tom Holmes and Tom McIntyre, although Holmes did come back.

"We haven't got the depth to cover, but we know the financial situation at the club is bad.

"Another issue is picking players that really don't suit us. Brandon Barker was clearly not at that level a couple of seasons ago when he came in on a short-term contract under Paul Ince and was just awful."

Johnny continued: "We’ve had a few random players, and I think probably one of the worst ones was Jordan Mutch under Japp Stam, he was pretty average.

"But the bigger picture for us is obviously just keeping that squad together through the transfer window. We're halfway through that now, so we just need to keep going and keep building."

Two of Reading's stars are already being targeted

While the desire to keep hold of their key players will be there, as history has already proven, it will be incredibly difficult for them to stay.

Charlie Savage, Harvey Knibbs, Sam Smith and Tyler Bindon have already been the subject of interest in the January transfer window, and that will only increase as other clubs get more and more desperate to make moves in the final weeks of the month.

Compared to last season, the Royals are in a strong position in the league, and this may have an influence on their players with the potential to take the club back to the Championship a huge draw.