Sad times indeed.

Reading winger Paolo Hurtado has this evening finalised a permanent exit from the club, moving to Vitoria de Guimaraes. The Peruvian had been on loan at the Portuguese club last season, and has decided to commit his future to them.

The exact transfer fee will, in true Reading style remain ‘undisclosed’, but it’s reported to be around €500,000. Sport Witness, quoting Portuguese outlets Record and O Jogo, put that figure forward, and also claim Hurtado will have a release clause of €40m.

(Lol)

Nonetheless, half a million Euros is a decent enough amount which can be re-invested into either a new signing or thousands of crates of Carabao.

It’s hardly surprising news, with Hurtado going on record just over a month ago that he wanted Vitoria to buy him outright so that he could end his dismal spell in Berkshire. That spell started in summer 2017 when he was bought by then-manager Steve Clarke, and saw Hurtado only make a handful of appearances before being shipped out on loan to Portugal for regular game time.

El Caballito would go on to play a grand total of 47 games for Vitoria, scoring ten goals and registering three assists. In fact, back in May 2017, he described his time at Vitoria as the best patch in his career.

On the whole, we’re glad that Paolo’s managed to get out of England - where he clearly didn’t settle well - and returned to a country where he’s enjoyed his football.

Good luck Paolo!