Although the weekly Loan Report was done on Monday, there have been a couple of interesting developments with regards to Reading players out on loan since then. Two players are now back with the Royals, with another loanee giving an interview about his future.
First up centre-back Sean Morrison has been recalled early by manager Brian McDermott following a short loan spell at Huddersfield. Morrison was signed in March by the League One leaders but following a run of four games as an unused substitute, McDermott feels he would be better spending the rest of the season at his parent club.The former Swindon defender will now be available to Reading for selection for the next four games plus any possible play-off games, having so far been an unused substitute three times for the Royals.
Huddersfield manager Lee Clark was naturally disappointed about losing Sean, saying:
"I'm gutted to lose Sean because he's a very good footballer and has shown a terrific attitude all the time he's been here. I'd like to have given Sean some game time, but how could I when the two lads in possession of the shirts have been playing the way they have? It's a blow that he's gone back, but he's Reading's player and I respect their decision."
Another defender back at Reading is full-back Julian Kelly, who saw his loan deal expire at Lincoln yesterday. Kelly played 21 games at Right-Back for the Imps and will now be back with the Royals hoping to earn a new contract, as his current deal expires at the end of the season. There is talk of Kelly joining Lincoln permanently in the summer, so it'll be interesting to see what the former Arsenal youngster's future is. You can read an article about Julian from a Lincoln perspective here.
Both Sean and Julian featured for the Reading Reserves yesterday in an 8-0 win over Exeter. Morrison partnered Alex Pearce at centre-back, while Kelly fitted in at left-back. Goals for the Royals came courtesy of a Jake Taylor hat-trick, a brace from Nicholas Bignall as well as strikes from Abdulai Bell-Baggie, Ethan Gage and Lawson D'Ath. You can view pictures from the game here.
Meanwhile, another loanee has spoken about his future to the media. David Mooney spoke to Sky Sports about how he wants to earn a deal with a Championship club when his Reading contract expires at the end of this season. The striker, who has scored 13 goals for Colchester this season, said:
"I'm happy with the current total (of goals), but I've probably been a little bit unlucky not to add to that tally more. I feel that my overall performances have been a lot better than my goalscoring, but hopefully a few clubs have been watching and come the summer will present themselves to me with offers on the table."
The striker is yet to feature in the League for Reading, with only two starts in the Carling Cup to his name. He has been loaned to four different clubs since he joined the Royals from Cork in 2008 and said:
"All you want from a footballer is to be wanted, but I really want to find a new club and kick on with my career because I've not really settled at one place yet since coming over from Ireland, with loan spells most seasons. You can't really settle down when you are moving about every year, so if I can find a club where I can do that then I can hopefully produce what I know I can on the pitch. The higher you go up the better players expect of themselves and I'd love to stay in the Championship next year, but all I can concentrate on is finishing the season on a high with Colchester. Whatever happens come the summer will come on the back of it, but hopefully I can find a club where I can achieve some of the goals that I set out to achieve when I came over to England. I've not really spoken to my agent about interest or offers at this stage because I'm keen to remain focused on Colchester for now. The more I can impress with my performances and scoring goals then the more opportunities I will have in the summer, so I've not really thought about where I want to go in the summer."
It has also come to my attention (thanks to @Colsacricket on Twitter) that Simon Locke is back from injury and made his Basingstoke return in a 4-0 win over Hampton & Richmond on Saturday. Goalkeeper Locke joined Basingstoke earlier this season, but damage to ligaments in his hand had kept him out on the sidelines. However he will be delighted to return with a clean sheet after replacing Chay Morris in the Basingstoke goal. Basingstoke boss Frank Gray said:
"Simon is on loan from Reading and was fit to play and it felt right to put him in. Chay has no problem with that and Simon has produced one great save during the game.”
We'll have more on our loanees in our regular loan watch column, that you can find on the Tilehurst End next week.