How Much Is The Current Reading FC Squad Worth? Part 2

If you missed part one of our look at the value of Reading's squad, you can check it out here.

Midfielders

George Evans - Transfermarkt value (TMV): £425k, Wimb value: £500k

Evans joined on a free transfer from Manchester City in January without an appearance above third tier level to his name but has now firmly established himself in the Reading first team squad. He's not produced anything truly memorable so far but he's shown enough at age 21 to suggest he'll be at least a useful rotation option going forward. His age and good background should ensure a decent fee for him.

Stephen Quinn - TMV: £1.28m, Wimb: £1m

As anyone who listens to The Tilehurst End Podcast, or follows our Twitter account knows, I bloody love Stephen Quinn. His energy and work rate are at Jay Tabb type levels but like Tabby I'm not really sure he's got a massive amount of re-sale value going forward. At 30 years of age and with 350 games under his belt he's not going to improve much and since leaving Sheffield United he's never quite nailed down that regular slot on the team sheet. Yet his versatility makes him valuable right now and you could see a promotion contending team wanting to add depth with a player like Quinny.

Danny Williams - TMV: £1.7m, Wimb: £1m

Contract length and wages are the big issue for the American, who's one of the last remaining bloated 'Zingarevich' contracts left on the books. Danny has just six months left on his deal until he's a free agent so it would likely take a club offering to at least match his current deal to prise him away in January and stop the midfielder testing the open market as a free agent. Reading have limited bargaining power with Williams out of contract in July but they managed to make £3m+ from Nick Blackman in a similar scenario so a seven-figure sum should be obtainable.

John Swift - TMV: £850k, Wimb: £5m

I can't figure out how TM has his value quite so low but in my world I'm not letting Swift go for anything less than the five million Reading got for Aaron Tshibola, a player five months older than Swift and with far less Championship experience. Leeds' Lewis Cook went for a fee that could rise to £10m and so £5m for Swift seems on the cheap side if anything. Swift's goal for the England U21s this week will only enhance his reputation and unless Reading are desperately short of funds, they hold plenty of power to demand a high fee.

TMV Total: £4.255m - Wimb Total: £7.5m

*****

Forwards

Garath McCleary - TMV: £1.06m, Wimb: £3m

After a rocky couple of seasons, Garath looks to be getting close to the form he showed in 2012/13 that had him linked with a series of Premier League clubs. He may be 29, but he's still got plenty to offer and with Reading holding an option year for next season, there's no need to let GMac go without getting a decent chunk of change. Attacking creative players are always going to earn a premium and Jimmy Kebe's £3m move to Palace at a similar age is a good comparison for me.

Callum Harriott - TMV: £340k, Wimb: £400k

The highlights of Harriott's goals from the MK Dons game probably puts him in this price range immediately and his age and previous promise at Charlton does the rest. Reading paid a reported £350k for him earlier this season and he's probably worth a tiny bit more than that now.

Roy Beerens - TMV: £1.28m, Wimb: £850k

I like Beerens but he's not really kicked on from a promising start to his Reading career. He cost the club a reported £850k from Hertha Berlin and I think that's the best you're going to get for him if you wanted to move him along again come January. He's not done much to damage his value but little to improve on it.

Joseph Mendes - TMV: £340k, Wimb: £250k

Not sure why any club would pay more than a quarter of a million for Mendes given his lack of impact at Championship level so far.

Deniss Rakels - TMV: £725k, Wimb: £750k

His ankle injury means he's had no chance to improve on a promising first six months at the club. As an international striker, at just 24, who's already bagged a few in the second tier, he'd still probably generate close to a seven-figure transfer fee.

Yann Kermorgant - TMV: £425k, Wimb: £500k

I think you'd still be able to find a club willing to give Reading the money they paid Bournemouth last January. He's shown he's not the main man but has done enough in a supporting role to potentially tempt a club who are looking to support an established group of forwards. A man who knows all about fighting for promotion, his experience and dressing room presence might tempt a team to take him on.

Dominic Samuel: TMV: £128k, Wimb:  £350k

While Samuel has enjoyed decent loan spells and  successful youth career, the 22-year-old has yet to show he's a viable option at Championship level. Considering that Tom Bradshaw, a proven scorer at third tier level went for a reported £700k, I don't see how Samuel can net the club any more than half of that figure based on his exploits to date. Maybe you can pump up the value on 'potential' but I don't see a club above Reading in the table taking him on and clubs lower down the pyramid would likely focus on incentives and sell-ons rather than a hefty initial outlay.

Yakou Meite: TMV: £128k, Wimb: £300k

Personally I'd rate Samuel's potential above Meite's but the later's injury means you'd have a hard time convincing a buying club of that. Reading picked him up on a free transfer and based on what we've had chance to see so far, again you'd find it tough to get a club to pay a big fee for the 20-year-old Frenchman.

TMV Total: £4.29m - Wimb Total: £6.4m

*****

TOTAL SQUAD VALUE

TMV Total: £19.253m - Wimb Total: £24m

Overall my squad comes out around £5m more valuable than Transfermarkt but that figure still doesn't make for outstanding reading if you're a bean counter at the football club. As I mentioned in part one, parachute payments end this summer and if the club is needed to sell before it can buy, then you're not looking at too many assets you'll be able to safely move on for decent money. By my estimations, Chris Gunter, Liam Moore, John Swift and Garath McCleary are the most valuable assets but fans would be loathed to lose any of them, with the possible exception of Gunter.

That leaves the Thai owners in a bit of a tricky situation because there's not many expendable players in the team who'll be able to raise any significant fees. Ali Al-Habsi, Danny Williams and Yann Kermorgant will be able to walk away for free in July and younger players like Jonathan Bond, Jake Cooper and Dominic Samuel have failed to really kick on so far, making them questionable for Stam's first team and not particularly appealing to other clubs.

In all likelihood, Stam is going to have to bank on players like Meite, Harriott and Evans, those younger players mentioned above plus those out on loan like Rob Dickie, Tariqe Fosu and Jack Stacey to really step up over the next year, or else the Thai's will have to pump their own money in to avoid selling some of our prize assets. Whether they'll be prepared to do so is the key question.