The Royals can boast a very productive academy in recent years with two graduates heading out the door this summer in clear upgrading moves. Michael Olise, probably the best player in the Championship last season, has signed for Crystal Palace and Omar Richards, a dynamic full back, has moved on a free to Bayern Munich.
Olise and Richards are both signs of Reading’s progress and their existing issues. The sale of this pair should have fetched tens of millions for the Berkshire club but Richards was allowed to run his contract down while Michael Olise left for a paltry eight million. Exciting youngster Thierry Nevers was also allowed to leave for next to nothing. Reading can be doing more to maximise their profits on these talents, or even better hold onto them.
On the plus side, Reading are one of the best for player pathways with plenty of minutes on offer for U23 players and there are several players ready to take advantage of that.
| U23 Projected Starters | |
|---|---|
| Position | |
| GK | Coniah Boyce-Clarke |
| CB | Nelson Abbey |
| CB | Michael Strickland |
| RB | Tyrell Ashcroft |
| LB | Imari Samuels |
| CM | Kian Leavy |
| CM | Malachi Talent-Aryeetey |
| CM | Dejan Tetek |
| RW | Mamadi Camara |
| LW | Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan |
| CF | Nehum Melvin-Lambert |
| U18 Projected Starters | |
|---|---|
| Position | |
| GK | Bastian Smith |
| CB | Kelvin Abrefa |
| CB | Louie Holzman |
| RB | Sam Paul |
| LB | Jordan Addo-Antoine |
| CM | Benjamin Purcell |
| CM | Hamid Abdul-Salam |
| CM | Jacob Borgnis |
| RW | Ashton Greaver |
| LW | Harvey Maunder |
| CF | Jahmari Clarke |
Players in Profile - Three to Watch in 2021/2022
Ethan Bristow
- Position: LB
- Age: 19
- Nationality: English
Reading have a huge hole at left back with Omari Samuels heading to Bayern Munich on a free transfer. Currently it looks like the man to fill that role is Ethan Bristow, with the nineteen year old having made inroads on the first team during pre-season. Having only started one FA Cup tie in his career so far, Bristow is inexperienced but has shown flashes of his potential and was one of the stand out players for the U23s in his first season at that level. He appears to be slightly ahead of fellow academy full back Imari Samuels as it stands although Reading could be set for a long time (or a big pay day) with both players having the potential to entrench themselves in the first team set up. Bristow is a prototypical modern full back with the pace and energy to get up and down the left flank.
Dejan Tetek
- Position: CM
- Age: 18
- Nationality: Serbian
An English born Serbian U21 international, Dejan Tetek is already well entrenched as a first team player at the Madejski despite being only eighteen years old. He made seven appearances last season and, now entering the season as the primary backup for the centre midfield position, looks set to be earning significantly more game time in 2021/22. Arsenal were credited with an interest in the midfielder last January and Tetek - although he is a different type of player - could help cautorise the pain of losing Michael Olise by emerging as another homegrown youth midfielder. Tetek is a hard-working, left-footed midfielder with a good engine and excellent passing range. He is also helped by Reading being placed under a transfer embargo meaning added competition is unlikely to be coming in.
Femi Azeez
- Position: CF
- Age: 20
- Nationality: English
Azeez was picked up from non-league football in 2019 having joined Wealdstone and in 2020 he made easy work of his first full season at U23 level, scoring ten goals in twelve starts. He scored five goals in his final three games to round off a breakthrough campaign for the former part-timer. This season he has already started well, scoring his first goal for the first team against Preston North End. At youth level Azeez has played centre forward but he is versatile enough to play out wide which makes his path for regular first team football more feasible. Still under a transfer embargo, Reading are set for a season of leaning on their own youth products and a pacey goalscorer is sure to be heavily used.