Tanner Joins Plymouth On Loan

Young academy graduate Craig Tanner has joined Plymouth Argyle until January 2, 2016.

The 20-year-old forward, who can play in a variety of forward positions, made his debut for the Royals last season in the Capital One Cup First Round fixture against Newport County, in which he scored the fastest debut goal in Madejski Stadium history by netting within five minutes of coming on as a substitute. In case you forgot, we won that round 3-1.

Speaking to the official site, Reading manager Steve Clarke said,

"We know that first team opportunities for Craig will be limited this year so we thought it best to get him out on loan again and give him more valuable experience with Plymouth Argyle, just as he did at AFC Wimbledon last season.

"He started his spell at Wimbledon very well but tailed off a little bit towards the end of their campaign, so this is another very good opportunity to make an impact in the environment of competitive first team football."

Tanner, who extended his contract until the summer of 2017 earlier this year, spent part of last season on loan at AFC Wimbledon, making 19 appearances for the Dons, 16 of which were starts. Unfortunately, he failed to score or assist in his stint there, despite scoring 7 and assisting 4 in the U21 Premier League.

The Pilgrims will hope this loan switch will be more successful, having likely been impressed by his performance in a pre-season friendly between Reading U21 and Plymouth back in July.

Tanner was one of the most highly-rated players in our Academy and has impressed for a number of years in the Royals' youth sides, so here's hoping this loan move will allow him to tap into the undoubted potential he has.

All the best, Craig.

The Tilehurst End's Loan Watch will return this season. Stay tuned to find out how Craig and other loanees are faring in their time away from the club.

What do you make of the loan move? Does Tanner have what it takes to be a regular for Reading Football Club? Let us know in the comments.