Goalkeepers Coniah Boyce-Clarke, 17, and James Holden, 18, have now completed paperwork on deals which will keep them at the club on professional terms, while American striker Augustus McGiff celebrates his 18th birthday with a professional contract with the Royals following the culmination of his scholarship year.
We have also offered a contract extension to forward Femi Azeez, whose deal expired at the end of June but will now run until the end of the 2020-21 season.
Meanwhile, we bid farewell to a number of Under-23 players whose contracts have come to an end. We would like to wish goalkeeper Liam Driscoll, defenders Lexus Beeden, Andre Burley, Marcel Elva-Fountaine, Ramarni Medford-Smith and Akinwale Odimayo, midfielders Werick Caetano, Ethan Coleman, Tyler Frost and Roberto Nditi and strikers Ben House and Adam Liddle the very best of luck in their future careers.
They are joined by Under-18s players Emmanuel Obamakinwa and Pedro Neves who leave the club at the end of their scholarships. And first team pros Vito Mannone and Adrian Popa have also been released following the expiry of their respective contracts.
As previously reported, six of the seven members of our first team squad whose contracts were due to expire at the end of June, have now signed short-term extensions to enable them to represent the club until the end of the current protracted campaign. Tyler Blackett, Chris Gunter, Garath McCleary, Gabriel Osho, Jordan Obita and Charlie Adam can continue to form part of Mark Bowen’s squad for the remaining six fixtures this season, however Danny Loader is no longer eligible to play for the club following the expiration of his contract.
And we can also confirm that all five of our current loanees will also be able to represent the Royals for the outstanding games this season – Lucas Boye, Ovie Ejaria, Pele, Ayub Masika and Matt Miazga (albeit currently suspended) have agreed, with their parent clubs, to extend their loan spells at the club until the season’s conclusion.