Jack Stacey Signs New Contract At Reading FC

Jack Stacey made his initial breakthrough under Nigel Adkins, being named in a handful of squads in the early stages of last year as the club's injury crisis worsened. He made his debut as a late sub against Ipswich as an 18 year old but it was under Steve Clarke that the midfielder really got a proper taste of first team action, starting twice against Watford and Derby with a handful of sub appearances in between. Stacey impressed fans enough to win fourth place on our TTE Reading FC Rookie of the Year vote.

Sadly an ankle injury saw him substituted early on at the iPro Stadium and the influx of established talent has since pushed him down the pecking order but it's clear from Clarke's comments on the official website that he has a lot of belief in the youngster.

"I'm very pleased that Jack Stacey has signed a new deal here at Reading FC. He deservedly played his way into my thoughts last season and was rewarded with his first senior starts at Watford and then Derby on the final day of the season.

Unfortunately a serious injury ended his very impressive performance at Derby prematurely but I had already seen enough in my time at the club to know that Jack, if he continues working hard to improve his game, will be another Academy graduate that we can rely on in the future."

Stacey now joins Dominic Samuel, Jake Cooper and Tariqe Fosu in committing his long-term future to the club and while he's still got a long way to go before he can consider himself a true first team regular, the fact the club are happy to give him a deal until 2019 certainly shows a lot of faith in him. It's also another big vote of confidence for our Academy who have helped nurture and develop Stacey for over a decade so once again a big thumbs up to Eamonn Dolan

Best of luck Jack and here's to a bright future in blue and white.