Exclusive: Reading FC in pole position to beat Plymouth, Barnsley & Leyton Orient to Brighton transfer agreement | OneFootball

Reading are leading the race to sign Brighton forward Mark O'Mahony on loan, FLW understands.

Reading are leading the race to sign Brighton & Hove Albion forward Mark O'Mahony on loan, Football League World has exclusively been informed.

The Royals are hoping to build on a vastly improved 24/25 season in League One next term, having climbed from 17th in 23/24 to seventh.

Noel Hunt's side missed out on a play-off place by just three points, and have already made moves to strengthen their squad this summer, with goalkeeper Jack Stevens and centre-back Paudie O'Connor both arriving at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Reading leading the chase to sign Brighton forward Mark O'Mahony

Football League World has exclusively been informed that Reading are now favourites to secure the loan signing of Brighton forward, Mark O'Mahony.

We exclusively revealed earlier this week that Barnsley, Plymouth and the Royals had all joined Leyton Orient - whose interest was first reported by Alan Nixon in late June - in the race to sign the 20-year-old Seagulls starlet.

O'Mahony began his career in his homeland of Ireland, both with Carrigaline United and Cork City respectively, before being poached by Brighton in January 2023.

A Republic of Ireland youth international, the young centre-forward has been scoring goals for fun for his national side and in Brighton's academy over the last few years, and even made his first three Premier League appearances for the club in the 23/24 season.

O'Mahony penned a new contract in April 2024, which sees him contracted at the AMEX Stadium until June 2027.

O'Mahony could be primed to make a big impact for a League One side next season

Brighton don't just hand Premier League minutes to any young player on their books.

You have to have earnt the trust of the manager in order to be thrown into the deep end that is English football's top flight, as a teenager who's only previous senior experience was a handful of games in Irish football no less.

So, for O'Mahony to have made numerous Premier League appearances for the Seagulls before his 20th birthday has to say a lot about how highly he's regarded at the AMEX, and how much potential he may well have.

Indeed, he showed further glimpses of that whilst out on loan in the Championship last season with Portsmouth, as despite only making three appearances, his three league goals in 593 minutes of second tier football last year equated to a goals per 90 average of 0.46 - which ranked him in the top 82.4 percentile of strikers in that division last season (per FotMob).

O'Mahony did also miss a significant amount of time last season through injury, with a side strain picked up in November sidelining him for nearly two-and-a-half months.

Therefore, taking the step down to League One could hand him the perfect opportunity to really announce himself in senior football, as he could well be a cut above at that level.

As such, any of Reading, Barnsley, Plymouth or Leyton Orient could all surely do worse than to take a punt on a talented young striker like O'Mahony, who could provide a real injection of quality to any of their respective forward lines in the third tier next term.