The Great Contract Churn Of 2025: Who Should Reading Keep?
The Royals have a LOT of deals to sort out this summer, so which players should be on the renew list and who should be moved on?
It’s probably fair to say the Reading fanbase is acutely aware of this, but just in case, here’s a quick recap: rather a lot of our current senior playing squad have contracts running out at the end of this season. Which is, *checks calendar*, quite soon.
Noel Hunt mentioned in his comments after the Barnsley loss that the discussions would start this week (the one starting May 5). It’s not all doom and gloom - this could be an opportunity for us to assess the strengths of the squad and look at where the opportunities are within to free up some wages to spend elsewhere - something of a reset for Hunt to get the squad in place he needs for a summer of recruitment, to try and then go one better next season.
For what it’s worth, here’s my opinion on who to keep or release. I have focussed on the senior team as the contract situations for those predominately representing the academy sides is not clear. To do this, I’ve worked through this by position, and as ever, I clearly don’t know what I’m talking about so feel free to tell me where I’ve gone wrong.
Goalkeepers
Coniah Boyce-Clarke: Release
It’s with a heavy heart that I recommend Boyce-Clarke moves on to pastures new. He’s gotten to the point where he’s pretty much outgrown the academy teams, and for whatever reason he hasn’t really been in contention for even warming the bench for the senior side, with David Button often preferred. The most telling thing though has been that, when Button was recently unavailable, Hunt turned to Tom Norcott instead.
I’d love to see Boyce-Clarke stay and break into the first team. However, it seems the writing is on the wall for him and perhaps a drop down to a lower level to get regular football can reignite the spark for him. I certainly hope so.
David Button: Release, unless…
…we can get him to sign reduced terms, for a one-year deal. He’s adequate backup and, while not a fan favourite, is clearly a good presence around the team. In this sense, he has value to add, at least for the short term.
However, if we can’t get him to take a pay cut and just stay on for one year, then it may not be worthwhile. I’m mindful that we may need to sign a backup goalkeeper (Alex McCarthy, anyone?) in the summer, and this is often a position which is hard to recruit for. It’s probably better to release him into the wild, but let’s hope it’s not a “be careful what you wish for” situation.
Joel Pereira: Keep
Because obviously. In fact, if someone could lock him in a broom cupboard at Bearwood until the start of the season, so no cheeky agents try to swoop in and bring him to a club higher up the pyramid, that would be marvellous. We’ll all collectively deny he ever existed until he has signed a new deal, just to deter anyone taking him away from us.
Whether he chooses to stay, however, is a whole other thing. In one sense, for the first time in his career, he seems to be settled and really enjoying his football and surroundings. In return, he is absolutely loved by the fanbase and team mates. This has to count for a lot.
However, he may want to test himself at a higher level, and that’d be difficult to begrudge. But we can hope that a pay rise will persuade him to stay and try to go up the pyramid with Reading.
Defenders
Harlee Dean: Release
The over-riding feeling with Dean is that Hunt’s style of football is much better suited to him than his predecessor’s higher-placed style of play, and Dean was unfortunate to have picked up an injury which prevented him being able to continue his redemption arc in the centre of defence.
However, putting emotion and good vibes to one side, while effective, his all-round game is a bit more limited and we should probably look to give more game time to Michael Stickland and/or Louie Holzman (if they hang around, of course). Freeing up his wages could help us bring in someone who can stay with us for the longer term. Dean can leave with his head held high.
Jeriel Dorsett: Keep
Bit of a no-brainer, really. It’s not clear if he is now first or second choice as a left-back for us, but as I have said many, many times, his future should be in the centre of defence, not on the left flank.
His versatility will be useful if we need to reshuffle the pack mid-game due to injury or a sending-off, but I would like to see him starting alongside Mbengue next season. Speaking of which…
Amadou Mbengue: Keep
If he leaves, I riot. He’s so important, I broke my strict alphabetically listing code to segway from Dorsett to Mbengue.
There are rumours of interest from higher up, but you get the sense that he’s happy where he is and wants to go up the pyramid with us. I also worry that his... while not erratic but unusual... playing style may not be so well appreciated in other sides. At least here in RG2 he will be loved.
Andre Garcia: Keep
Difficult one, this. Firstly, it’s hard to know what his contract situation actually is. He may well have another year to run, for all we know. If so, fantastic.
Secondly, that’s because he is another who is receiving admiring glances from higher up the pyramid - indeed, even at Premier League level. It’s not impossible to imagine him joining a team like Bournemouth and then being loaned back to us to continue his development. That wouldn’t be too bad, though I’d prefer to keep him properly.
Lastly, as I have said elsewhere, his future does lie further forwards; being a full-back doesn’t feel like a natural fit for him. I’d love to see him given a chance further up the pitch to see what he could do closer to the goal, cutting in from the right and giving people headaches. He’s the closest natural replacement to Femi Azeez that we could hope for.
Louie Holzman: Keep
It’s not entirely clear regarding his contract situation, and while it seems Stickland has leap frogged him in the pecking order, with Tyler Bindon leaving and us likely to see at least one other centre-back leave, keeping him around to continue his development would be ideal, not to mention the fact he’s an excellent defender. The time to step up full-time from the academy beckons.
Michael Stickland: Keep
Ctrl + C… Ctrl + V… It’s not entirely clear regarding his contract situation, and while it seems Stickland has leap frogged him he has leap frogged Holzman in the pecking order, with Bindon leaving and us likely to see at least one other centre-back leave, keeping him around to continue his development would be ideal, not to mention the fact he’s an excellent defender. The time to step up full-time from the academy beckons.
Andy Yiadom: Keep, if…
Our captain has been an excellent servant for the club. However, it’s clear that he is no longer first choice, based on the fact that an out-of-position Tivonge Rushesha has been getting picked ahead of him. Indeed, if Abrefa weren’t injured, you’d expect him to be starting games ahead of Yiadom.
However, Yiadom has been incredibly useful in the second half of the season (as this wise writer predicted) with his versatility in playing on the left and even supporting in central defence when quite literally everyone was injured.
As a rotation/backup option, he has a future. However, this may require him to hand over the armband full-time to Lewis Wing. It certainly will need to see him sign a contract extension on reduced terms, given that his last deal would have been finalised - unlike anyone else - while we were a Championship side, so we cannot afford to continue giving him those kind of wages. I’d say a one-year deal with an option for a second would be the best compromise for all.
However, if he is unwilling to be flexible regarding this - as is his entitlement, I should add - then we may have to bid him farewell and good luck.
Midfield
Tom Carroll: Keep
As mentioned earlier in the article, midfield is our most stacked area of the team. Wing, Harvey Knibbs, Charlie Savage and Ben Elliott will take some moving, and that’s before we consider that Craig is midfielder and we also have Rushesha pushing through, with the likes of Tyler Sackey, Shay Spencer, Jay Senga and Charlie Wellens knocking on the door.
However, Carroll has looked comfortable in the limited minutes he’s been offered and provides us a bit of depth to allow for rotation in cup games, experience for a young midfield and potential cover if any of our usual contingent move on - though, again, the majority of our midfield are tied down for at least one more year.
We can get another year from Carroll while we give the younger players a bit more time to prepare for an introduction to the first team.
Michael Craig: Keep
Speaking of which: yes, I know he’s been a right-back for us but it doesn’t seem likely that this will be a long-term solution, despite how effective he has been in this role.
Without injury, there is potential that he would have been in consideration for the player of the season awards. There is also the feeling that he could be the natural player to come into Wing’s role, to allow him to push further up the pitch.
Convincing Craig to stay is a big “if”, I should add, as he is another who is catching attention from those at Championship level and, weirdly, the bottom of the League One table. However, we need to get him to sign a contract ASAP.
Tivonge Rushesha: Keep
He’s had a good run in the first team and largely done OK, considering he has been out of position. The interesting thing for Rushesha is that if Craig and Carroll sign, and the other four mentioned are able to remain largely injury-free, he hasn’t got an immediate pathway into the first team.
I’d be surprised if he didn’t have a one-year option built into the one-year contract he signed last summer, and I think he’s one of the few who we should consider loaning out to get regular football at another League One side to allow his development to continue.
Forwards
Mamadi Camara: Release
It’s a shame, and not just because it would have been nice to sell Camara and get some money, but he’s just not been able to deliver for us this season when given the chance.
Indeed, it seems Hunt has struggled to find a role for him on the pitch - he regularly rotates between the left and right flanks without much impact on either, as demonstrated by four goals and two assists across 1,929 minutes in 38 games this season.
I was one who predicted him to kick on this year, finally after getting a clear run without injuries. However, it wasn’t to be.
Kelvin Ehibhationhan: Release
I said it after the Easter Weekend’s games, but as a recap: is he a striker or a winger? I don’t know.
What does he offer us on the pitch? It’s not goals - four all season (33 League One games). It’s not assists - three in the league all season. Even his TTE player ratings average has been one of the lower of the regular starters in the squad.
We do seem to have a strange attachment to Ehibhatiomhan, as a fanbase. He’s been about as effective as Camara, perhaps even less so given his minutes, yet while I’m not sure anyone would question releasing Camara, the idea of releasing Ehibhatiomhan doesn’t sit right.
We all want him to do well, but after two seasons of regular first-team football, we have to remove the emotional lens and look at the data. Has he improved? No. The same things we said he needed to work on two years ago are the same things now, other than an improvement in use of his left foot.
Indeed, I’d question if he even wants to stay. He has cut a forlorn, often unhappy figure on the pitch of late and, in a world of FFP and PSR, it hurts to not sell him on for money. The only reason we’d keep him though is the blind hope that he will kick on and become the footballer we believe he can be. But, really, how likely is that to happen?
Jayden Wareham: Keep
Easy one, this. Clearly we badly need a striker to provide back-up to the team. The question is - is Wareham the guy to lead the line next season? All he is missing is goals, and perhaps maybe giving him wingers who are more creative to support him will assist that.
However, he’s done enough to show he is willing to fight for his place and deserves not only the chance to stay on, but also the chance to stake his claim as the leading man.