After missing out on promotion to the Premier League during the 2016/17 season thanks to a play-off final defeat, the club looked determined to return to the top-flight for the first time since 2013, and weren’t afraid to get the chequebook out in the years that followed.
Romanian
The Royals made headlines in the summer of 2019 when they signed highly-rated striker George Puscas for a reported fee of £7.5million, plus add-ons, from Italian giants Inter Milan, but the Romanian striker was unable to live up to that hefty fee, despite showing some glimpses of what he was capable of.
It’s a far cry from the most recent summer transfer window where the Royals made just one signing, a loan deal on transfer deadline day, becoming the last EFL club to do any business thanks to their financial constrai nts.Reading were certainly ambitious a couple of seasons ago and signed the likes of Sone Aluko for a reported fee of £7.5million in 2017, and Puscas for around the same fee two years later, huge money for a Championship club with no parachute payments.
Romanian
Puscas was certainly an exciting signing after impressing in Italy, and he’d made a handful of appearances for Inter Milan’s senior team, as well as being a full Romanian international.
He made the dream start to life at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, scoring twice on his home debut as the Royals beat a Cardiff City side who had just been relegated to the Premier League, but he wasn’t able to replicate that too often.
His next goal didn’t come until October, and while he showed flashes of brilliance, such as his hat-trick away to Wigan, he couldn’t do it on a consistent enough basis.
The Romanian international did enjoy a slightly better end to the season and finished with 14 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions, a decent return, but that was as good as things got for him in Berkshire.
Romanian
He scored just four league goals during the 2020/21 season, a campaign that was undone by injuries, before scoring just twice during the first half of the following season, and subsequently joining Serie B side Pisa on loan for the rest of t he season.
