Reading FC reveal involving Birmingham City and Wrexham reinforces need for takeover progress: View | OneFootball

Fixture release day reinforces the need for meaningful progress to be made on a sale.

League One side Reading don't seem to be on the verge of a takeover, which is a blow for the Royals ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

During the latter stages of March, it was announced that the club had entered into a period of exclusivity with a potential buyer.

The statement included a claim that a sale would take up to two months before it could be fully completed, but three months down the line, the exclusivity period has now ended and the club doesn't seem to be near to a takeover.

That is a real blow for the Royals, who are in desperate need of a new owner if they are to give themselves any real hope of surviving.

Under their current owner Dai Yongge, they seem to be doomed, with the Chinese businessman failing to adequately fund the third-tier side in recent years.

This failure has led to points deductions for the Berkshire side and having been deducted six points last term, fans will be keen to see the back of Mr Dai as quickly as possible.

In fact, for the sake of all parties, now is the right time for him to relinquish control and let someone else take the club forward.

Not only does an agreement between an interested party and Mr Dai need to be struck, but the former will also need to undergo rigorous EFL checks to ensure they are suitable custodians to guide the club into next term and beyond.

On Wednesday morning, the league fixtures for the 2024/25 campaign were released.

Considering the Royals' situation, there wasn't much of a buzz on social media ahead of this release, but there was plenty of reaction to the list.

The main thing a lot of people took away from the fixture list is the fact the Berkshire side face a very difficult start to the season.

Birmingham City.

Blues may need to grow into the season, with Chris Davies an inexperienced manager and the side needing plenty of signings, but that is a tough fixture to start the season for the Royals.

They then host Wigan Athletic, who could be strong under Shaun Maloney next term, before heading to Wrexham, who will be in high spirits following their promotion.

Charlton Athletic are their fourth and final opponents in August and that won't be an easy game either, with the Addicks set to be a tough team to face under Nathan Jones.

The first two months of the season are very difficult for the Royals, which makes pre-season stability crucial.

To ensure the Royals have stability in pre-season, all bills need to be paid in July and it's not 100% whether that will happen at this stage.

If a party enters an exclusivity period and major takeover progress is made, that should boost their chances of having the bills paid, but that isn't the only thing the club needs during pre-season.

They also need the funds to tie the likes of Kelvin Abrefa (pictured above), Tivonge Rushesha and Jack Senga down to new contracts.

New signings will be required as well, with the full-back, centre-back, wing and striker departments all needing to be looked at.

That level of funding may only come if a bidder gains exclusivity.

Although it's uncertain whether that bidder would pump a huge amount into the club, they will be wary that a failure to fund new additions could cause a disastrous start to the season, which will make their task harder when they get to take control of the Royals.