Jack Stevens Arrives To Bolster Reading’s Goalkeeping Options
He’s signed on a free from Cambridge United.
Reading’s summer transfer activity has taken another step forward today, with the addition of Jack Stevens. The 27-year-old goalkeeper was out of contract at recently relegated Cambridge United, and has signed a contract that’ll keep him with the Royals until 2027.
Given that Joel Pereira has also put pen to paper on a new contract, while David Button and Coniah Boyce-Clarke were released, Stevens is surely set to be Reading’s established second choice next season. Further down the pecking order are academy ‘keepers Harrison Rhone, Tom Norcott and Matthew Rowley, some of whom may now get a loan spell away from the SCL in 2025/26.
Speaking of Reading academy ‘keepers, that was Stevens himself, quite a while ago. He spent some time in the Royals’ youth setup in 2013/14 alongside Rob Shay, who was recently made head of goalkeeping.
As manager Noel Hunt said, that relationship with Shay - as well as Stevens’ character - were factors in his addition.
“We’re delighted to sign a keeper of Jack’s stature and calibre to the club. He’s someone who Rob [Shay] has known for many years, and has a great pedigree in this division. As a person, he is exactly the type of character we want around the dressing room, and I’m really looking forward to working with him.”
Stevens brings a fair amount of first-team experience to Reading, having racked up 137 League One appearances in his career so far, according to Transfermarkt. That game time has come across spells at Oxford United, Port Vale and Cambridge.
He’s no stranger to regular action, having played around 30 times in each of the 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 league campaigns. However, he got only around a dozen league outings in what was ultimately a relegation season for Cambridge in 2024/25.
Time will tell how well Stevens will be able to push Pereira for the starting spot (not much probably, given how well Pereira did last season), but on the face of it this is a solid enough addition to the goalkeeping department. Getting a permanent, fairly experienced addition gives Reading some solidity here.
Of course, attention now turns to (or rather remains on) upcoming transfer business. Reading have a lot of contract work and recruitment to do in order to build out the rest of the squad. With pre-season having started today, the clock is ticking...