Jaap Stam's Agent Declares Manager's Loyalty To Reading FC

After their impressive third-place finish in 2016/17, Reading could have a tough challenge on their hands in keep Jaap Stam in the Madejski Stadium dugout. However, according to his agent Henk Timmer, the Dutchman is a Loyal Royal. He (Timmer) told Voetbal Primeur:

"There is a lot of interest in Jaap, from English clubs and elsewhere in Europe. But he is loyal to Reading, the club that gave him a chance in English football.

"If a big club in the Premier League knocks, it might be a different story - the club is realistic. But, as it stands now, Jaap wants to finish his job at Reading."

On the face of it, very good stuff! The word "loyal" really does jump out of that quote. That said, there are a few things to unpack:

Timmer confirms that there is "a lot of interest" in Stam from across the continent. Obviously, we knew that already, but that first paragraph does a great job of talking up Stam's quality (look how in-demand he is!) whilst also boosting his integrity (look how loyal he is!).

We can't be 100% sure what he means by "big club in the Premier League" - does that include mid-table sides, or are Stam's ambitions reserved for teams around the Champions League/Europa League places?

To me, it sounds like Timmer is being deliberately vague - Stam wants to finish the job he started at Reading but, if a particularly amazing opening elsewhere comes up, he can't completely rule out a departure.

Either way, it seems to knock Leeds United out of the running, and presumably Ajax too.

Let's flip things around

Looking at things from Stam's point of view instead, unless that particularly amazing opening does come up, he's in a very comfy position at Reading. He's got a close ally in his Technical Director, a squad he's partially built, billionaire Chinese backers, and relatively realistic expectations for 2017/18*.

With all of that in mind, jumping ship to a similarly-placed club doesn't make a lot of sense. By staying in Berkshire, Stam is in the best position to add to his CV at the beginning of a very young managerial career.

Expectations?

*We asked you for your 2017/18 expectations a few days ago, and here's what you said: