In the past year, Reading Football Club has spent a massive amount of money on agent fees compared to their rival Championship clubs.
In the 2014/15 winter transfer window, Reading signed Yakubu, Zat Knight and Jure Travner on short-term contracts and signed Chalobah, Ake and Appiah on loan. Steve Clarke hoped those signings would be a boost to stave off relegation — though only Chalobah could be deemed a true success of those six signings.
Reading FC then signed six players on permanent deals over the summer, following the exits of Yakubu et al. But the club spent transfer fees on only two of them. They also signed six players on loan deals, with only one of them reported as a fee-paying loan. So... Not much money spent, right?
Yet The Royals may have spent more than you think after figures emerged today stating the club were the third highest spenders in terms of agent fees this summer.
According to Rob Harris of the Associated Press, Reading came behind only Cardiff City and Fulham FC in terms of fees spent on agents in the Sky Bet Championship between October 2014 and September 2015.
The club from Berkshire spent £2,391,666 on agent fees in that time.
League Championship clubs paid £26.1m to agents Oct 2014-Sept 2015. Full details: pic.twitter.com/Fx71H00tr7
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) November 30, 2015
Though that figure would almost definitely be higher should the boys in blue and white hoops ever be in the Premier League.
Premier League clubs paid agents £130m from Oct 2014-Sept 2015. Full list, with Liverpool top of table on £14.3m: pic.twitter.com/Na2Vk8Gk75
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) November 30, 2015