Experienced forward links up with first team at St George’s Park after signing one-year deal
Reading Football Club are very pleased to announce that Junior Hoilett has agreed to return as a Royal, signing a contract that keeps him in RG2 until the summer of 2023.
Hoilett has completed the paperwork on a one-year deal with the club and arrived at St George’s Park yesterday to join his teammates for a week-long training camp in preparation for the start of the brand new Championship campaign.
Head of Football Operations, Mark Bowen, said: “This is a big season for Junior, not only in the challenge he has committed to at Reading but internationally where he will be hoping to play a big part in Canada’s World Cup campaign in Qatar. An intelligent, creative, experienced winger, Junior will be a real asset to our first team squad next season and I’m delighted he has chosen to return as a Royal for 2022-23.”
Making a total of 27 appearances for Reading last season, Junior took his career appearance total beyond the 400 mark in 2021-22.
And he scored three important goals in our fight for survival – he rifled low past his former employers at the Cardiff City Stadium to earn three points with the only goal of the game before scoring a spectacular brace to earn a 2-2 draw with Derby County in our first game of 2022.
He also got on the scoresheet for his country, scoring the third in a 4-0 win over Jamaica last March to seal Canada’s route to the World Cup Finals - ending his country’s 36-year wait for a place in the tournament.
Hoilett began his career at Blackburn and was on the Ewood Park books when Paul Ince was in the Rovers dugout. Two loan spells in Germany - at SC Paderborn and then in the Bundesliga with FC St Pauli – preceded a goalscoring full debut back at Rovers in a 3-1 League Cup win over Gillingham.
In the summer of 2012, the Ontario-born forward signed for QPR where he won promotion to the Premier League via a Play-off Final victory over Derby County in 2014. He also achieved automatic promotion to the top tier with Cardiff City, playing in every game of City’s successful Championship campaign four years later.
Last summer, Hoilett was enjoying a run to the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals before signing a one-year deal with the Royals in August 2021.
A year on and Junior has put pen to paper on another contract in RG2 and has his international sights set on Group F meetings with Belgium, Croatia and Morocco with the Maple Leafs in November.
Royals manager Paul Ince said, “Junior was such an important player for this club last season, a calming influence in the dressing room and the spark we often needed to create opportunities in front of goal. I am really pleased to have him on board for 2022-23. Junior is a perfect professional, and very much respected not only by me as a manager, but more importantly from his teammates."
We are also very pleased to announce that forward Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan has also penned a new contract with the Royals.
The 19-year-old was involved in our first pre-season friendly against Colchester United last Saturday, and he was named in 19 match squads last season - including making his senior team debut in the Carabao Cup against Swansea City.
And now he is the latest of our Academy graduate group to pen a new pro deal to remain a Royal in 2022-23!
