21-year-old Watford midfielder commits to spending season in blue and white hoops
Reading Football Club are delighted to announce that midfielder Tom Dele-Bashiru has put pen to paper on a season-long loan move from Watford. He will take squad number 19 as a Royal.
The 21-year-old arrived at Bearwood Park this morning, completed his medical this afternoon and has now signed the paperwork to seal the switch which could see him make his Royals debut when we meet Preston North End at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Saturday.
Manager Veljko Paunovic said “Tom is a very creative, clever, talented young player who adds much-needed strength to our midfield. Importantly as a loanee, he is a player who fits our identity – someone who gives his best, stays positive, overcomes adversity and will never give up. I am really looking forward to working with him and helping him integrate into the squad we are trying to build at Reading.”
Born in Manchester, Dele-Bashiru came through the ranks at City and featured alongside Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden in a 4-0 win against the Royals’ Under-18s in the FA Youth Cup in December 2016.
He went on to make his professional debut for the club in the Carabao Cup in December 2017, aged just 18.
Coming off the bench to replace Foden against Leicester City, Tom played alongside the likes of Yaya Toure, Bernardo Silva and llkay Gundogan in midfield to help Pep Guardiola’s eventual winners reach the semi-finals that evening.
Two years ago he signed a six-year deal with Watford and scored for the Premier League side on his full debut – a 3-3 draw with Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup Third Round back in January 2020.
Last season, he replaced former Royals loanee Nathaniel Chalobah in a 1-0 win over rivals Luton Town to make his first Championship appearance.
However, his first start in the Championship ended in serious injury when, playing away against Reading in fact, his impressive start to the game was curtailed by an anterior cruciate ligament injury that would keep him sidelined for the duration of the Hornets’ promotion-winning 2020-21 campaign.
Nearing match fitness once more, Tom scored on his return to action when he featured in Watford Under-23s’ friendly against St Albans at the end of last month. And he got more minutes under his belt as the Hornets prepared for their return to the top flight with a 4-0 win at Doncaster a week ago.
Elder brother to Sheffield Wednesday’s Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Tom represented England at Under-16 level but has more recently played international football for Nigeria’s Under-20s and Under-23s - notably featuring in the Super Eagles’ U20 World Cup campaign in Poland in 2019.
Chief Executive Dayong Pang said, “I am delighted to welcome Tom to our club. I am confident we will play a big part in helping him quickly regain full match fitness following injury - and I am also confident that he will play a big part in helping us challenge for points throughout what is sure to be another gruelling Championship season.”
