The Royals have added some additional strength in depth to their Under-21 squad for 2022-23, signing up a quartet of young professionals to feature for Noel Hunt’s side this season.
These players won’t be eligible to feature for the first team this season as they won’t be registered as part of our 25-man squad for the current campaign, however they will all be testing their mettle in the Professional Development League this season as Royals.
Central midfielder Ethan Burnett represented the Royals in our Under-21 win over Burnley at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Monday.
Burnett, who can also play at the back, spent a spell on trial at Reading last season and now joins the Royals after leaving Southampton in the summer – a club the 20-year-old had represented since the age of nine.
18-year-old winger Adrian Akande also joins our Academy set-up and he also featured off the bench in our 2-0 win over the Clarets earlier this week.
Akande was released from the Swansea City books in the summer having signed his first professional deal as a Swan last season. Adrian’s formative years were spent with Crystal Palace and Chelsea and the Royals have now swooped for the promising young midfielder.
17-year-old defender Ayyuba Jambang was last at Norwich City and now begins a new chapter as part of our Under-21s.
Jambang was playing regularly for the Canaries in the Under-18 Premier League last season and is now set to take the step up to Under-21 football as a Royal.
And 18-year-old midfielder Josh Green completes the quartet having put pen to paper on a deal to join our Under-21s only this week.
We’d like to welcome Ethan, Adrian, Ayyuba and Josh to the club.
