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It had already been an interesting transfer rumour day for the Royals, with a rumour emerging that Steve Clarke was planning a move for Crystal Palace striker Kwesi Appiah. However, to completely throw us all off our feet, the club have decided to announce a completely different deal. Reading have instead completed the short-term loan signing of Chelsea defender Nathaniel Ake initially for a month, but that period can be extended.
Ake is a 20 year old Dutch defender who has captained his national side at every youth level up to the u21 stage. On first impressions, it looks like the signing has come about because of injury worries over Chalobah - the other young Chelsea player called Nathaniel with a big future ahead of him... who is on loan at Reading. For more insight into Reading's new signing, you can read the full confirmation article here.
Maybe Chalobah's injury is worse than first thought. The positions that Ake can cover is almost identical. #readingfc
— Paul Carey (@PaulCareySport) March 25, 2015
Tactics-wise, Nathan Ake does resemble his West London teammate, at least partially. With Chalobah specialising in the central defensive midfielder roll, Ake can also play there. What's more, the Dutchman is also comfortable at left-back and centre-back. This signing most certainly gives Steve Clarke another quality option going into the final push. That said, Ake is cup-tied for the semi-final against Arsenal, because Jose Mourinho just HAD to play him for 10 minutes against Watford.
This move does seem to make it clear that Steve Clarke has influence at Chelsea. Having now added two signings from the West London club, you wouldn't bet against him going back in the summer. This is the fifth addition that Clarke has made since taking the managerial post in December; the others being Jure Travner, Nathaniel Chalobah, Yakubu and Zat Knight.
With Reading still linked to Appiah, there's every chance that Steve Clarke could add another loan signing to his squad. Stay tuned to The Tilehurst End for all the news as it emerges.