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Away from all the managerial faff in the last couple of days, there's been some minor movement in Reading's playing staff - or at least potential playing staff. As had been reported recently, the Royals had two players on trial at the club - Kevin Foley and Dillon Powers. Get Reading's Charles Watts has tweeted today to say that, whilst Foley didn't catch the eye, Powers is still being looked at.
Dillon Powers trial extended, Kevin Foley has left. #readingfc
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) November 20, 2015
Foley is a veteran right back who last played for Copenhagen in Denmark, but made his Football League name at Wolves, where he racked up almost 200 appearances. With Chris Gunter the only recognised right back at the club, this looked to be an Andy Griffin-style addition of experience to the squad, but it wasn't to be.
In contrast, Dillon Powers would offer Steve Clarke a fresh attacking option (unless he finds a better club in West London). Currently at Colorado Rapids, Powers is a 24 year old American who typically plays in an attacking midfield role, but can also drop back into a deeper position. A little while ago, fellow SB Nation site Burgundy Wave were kind enough to send us their thoughts on Powers, which you can find here.
On the whole, I'm a little disappointed that Foley hasn't made the grade, as it would have been healthy for the manager (whoever it may be) to have another option in the defence. Although Chris Gunter's been solid enough this season, an injury to the Welshman would be a big blow. With regards to Powers, this looks like a relatively cheap gamble on a potentially very capable player at this level. Reading have a good record with American midfielders (Erik Opsahl excluded - remember him?), so I'd like to think that we could be on to something here.
As another way of looking at things, this is a good endorsement of the scouting network. Being able to pick out players from across the world is, well, what it's all about - so the potential capture of Powers shows that we're continuing to pick out rough diamonds.