Last Monday afternoon, our 2022-23 campaign reached its conclusion and now all decisions have been made and communicated to those first team, Under-21 and Under-18 players whose contracts are set to expire this summer.
On the first team front, Nesta Guinness-Walker will be a Royal next season. The promising 23-year-old left-back impressed in his first campaign with the club and, as part of his contract agreed last summer, an option to extend his stay in RG2 until 2024 has been triggered.
Another hidden gem unearthed last summer was Amadou Mbengue and the versatile Senegal Under-21 international has been offered a two-year contract at the club.
Seven years after he first signed as a Royal, Yakou Meite is in discussions with the club around the potential offer of a new contract for 2023-24, while the details of an offer of a new deal have also been prepared for experienced winger Junior Hoilett.
We would like to wholeheartedly thank all six players who represented the Royals on loan last season; Jeff Hendrick, Mamadou Loum, Joe Lumley, Baba Rahman, Tyrese Fornah and Cesare Casadei all immediately return to their parent clubs.
And we also wish the very best of luck to Scott Dann, Luke Southwood, Shane Long, Liam Moore, Lucas Joao and Dejan Tetek who depart at the expiration of their contracts with the club.
At Under-21 level, England and Jamaica youth international Coniah Boyce-Clarke has been offered a three-year contract with the Royals. The 20-year-old stopper had been part of the first team squad towards the end of the campaign and made his first team bow on the final day of the season at Huddersfield Town.
Left-back John Clarke has also been offered a one-year deal with the Royals; he joined the club last summer and made 1(+3) appearances for the first team, featuring in three league wins and our Carabao Cup defeat to Stevenage.
We have definitely retained the services of Hamid Abdel-Salam, Adrian Akande, Harvey Collins, Matt Rowley and Michael Stickland – the quintet all had extension clauses in their contracts triggered until 2024.
And we have offered new terms to left-back Matt Carson - who impressed on trial with our Under-21s last season - and centre-half Jeriel Dorsett who spent 2022-23 in the Scottish Premiership with Kilmarnock.
We would like to wish the best of luck for the future to Lui Bradbury, Ethan Burnett, Josh Green, Nahum Melvin-Lambert, Kian Leavy, Claudio Osorio and Rashawn Scott who leave the club this summer.
Six of our Under-18s side have earned offers of a first professional contract with the club; Harvey Maudner, Jacob Borgnis, Tom Norcott, Caylan Vickers, Jeremiah Okine-Peters and Basil Tuma – who made his first team debut in the Carabao Cup last summer - have all been offered deals for 2023-24.
However, we part company with David Nyarko, Ryley Campbell, Kyle Daniel-Spray, Harrison Furlong, Louis Hutchings, Troy Murray, Zion Nditi and Aston Greaver. Everyone at Reading Football Club would like to thank all those departing for their contribution to our club and wish them the very best of luck with their future careers.
“Last season ended little more than a week ago, but next season has to start now,” said Head of Football Operations, Mark Bowen. “At this time of the year, making difficult decisions on how we begin to shape our squad for the challenge of our next campaign is never easy but essential in the planning for 2023-24. Loanees, first team regulars, Academy hopefuls…I would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank every single player who has given his all for the crest and we wish those with whom we part company the very best of luck in the next stage of their career.”
