Millwall Sign Reading FC Defender Jake Cooper On Loan

Having barely made an appearance for Reading under Jaap Stam, Jake Cooper has moved out on loan to League One Millwall for the remainder of the season.

The South London club are chasing the play-offs in the third-tier whilst also preparing to host Watford in the FA Cup fourth round, hopefully giving the 21-year-old a decent run in senior football. Just three Championship substitute appearances have greeted Cooper so far this campaign, totalling about five minutes.

It's clear that Stam doesn't really rate the centre-back, then, given Joey van den Berg's prevalence as the back-up to Paul McShane and Liam Moore this season. Furthermore, the news comes just a day after Tiago Ilori's purchase from Liverpool, which no doubt pushed Cooper further from the first-team.

Even though that is of little surprise to many, given the Englishman's dodgy performances in a Reading shirt, it's still a shame to see an academy prospect cut out the side having made over 40 league appearances in the two seasons previous.

Here's hoping he can build his experience and find some form at Millwall.