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Craig Tanner - Plymouth Argyle (SkyBet League Two) December Appearances: 5 Total Appearances: 29 Goals: 4
Craig made five appearances in all throughout December, including four starts - against Cambridge, Hartlepool, Yeovil and Newport - and an appearance of the bench against Carlisle. Tanner played just behind the striker in most of his games this month, moving out to the left wing in their 2-1 win over Newport.
The club confirmed that Craig has extended his stay at the League Two leaders until the end of the season.
George Legg - Chesham United/Hampton & Richmond Borough (Southern League Premier Division/ Isthmian League Premier Division) December Appearances: 0/1 Total Appearances: 18
Legg was recalled by Reading on December 12th, and joined Hampton & Richmond Borough on loan at the end of December. He made his debut on Boxing Day, in a 3-2 win over Staines.
Happy to of joined @hrbfc on loan! big game Saturday ⚽️
— 'LEGGY' (@georgelegg1) December 24, 2015
Jake Taylor - Motherwell (Scottish Premier League) December Appearances: 0 Total Appearances: 8
Jake was absent from all of Motherwell's fixtures in December, and it was confirmed that the Welshman had returned to Reading.
Rob Dickie - Cheltenham Town (Conference National League) December Appearances: 1 Total Appearances: 23 Goals: 5
Rob Dickie had a turbulent week at the beginning of December. He bagged his first career hat-trick against Chelmsford, scoring all three goals - including a 77th minute penalty to seal the hat-trick - in a 3-1 win. He then got injured in the following week and picked up a six-week injury. It is unknown as to whether he is still currently with Cheltenham or back at Reading.
Lewis Collins - Farnborough (Ryman League Premier Division) December Appearances: 7 Total Appearances: 26 Goals; 4
Collins became a mainstay in the Farnborough team during his stay at the club, amassing 26 appearances in total, 7 of which came in December. He played 90 minutes against Brentwood, Harrow Borough, Leatherhead, Hendon, Burgess Hill Town and Staines, as well as being replaced at half-time against Lewes. Collins took to social media to confirm that he had left the club to return to Reading, and wished his team-mates well for the remainder of the season.
Enjoyed my time at @FarnboroughFC this season and I'm sure the club can get out of the situation they are in! ⚽️
— Lewis Collins (@LewiisCollins) January 2, 2016
Aaron Kuhl - Dundee United (Scottish Premier League) December Appearances: 0 Total Appearances: 7
Like Collins, Aaron Kuhl also took to Twitter to confirm his departure from the Scottish Club, on December 13th. When asked by a fan if he had left Dundee United, Kuhl replied:
@aimeeshane25 sadly yes
— Aaron Kuhl (@Aaron_Kuhl) December 13, 2015
Simon Cox - Bristol City (SkyBet Championship) December Appearances: 1 Total Appearances: 4 Goals: 0
Cox continued to warm the Bristol bench into December, making only one appearance - against Huddersfield as a 78thm minute substitute - in 6 games during the month. The club confirmed that Cox had returned to Berkshire at the beginning of January.
Noor Husin - Hemel Hempstead (Conference National League) December Appearances: 4 Total Appearances: 10 Goals: 3
Noor made 4 appearances in December against Hemel Hempstead, against Eastbourne Borough, Oxford City, Wealdstone and Maidenhead. The club then confirmed that Noor, alongside fellow Reading loanee Jak Jules, had returned to their parent club at the beginning of December.
Sean Long - Luton Town (SkyBet League Two) December Appearances: 5 Total Appearances: 12
The Irish full-back showed off his versatility for Luton during his spell at the club, playing at left-back against Peterborough during their 2-0 defeat, before switching back to his familiar right-back role for games against Northampton, Exeter, Wycombe and Portsmouth. He was an unused substitute in his final game, against Bristol Rovers, before he returned to Reading at the beginning of January.
Zak Jules - Hemel Hempstead (Conference National League) December Appearances: 4 Total Appearances: 8
Like Husin. Jak Jules returned to Reading at the end of December following a further four appearances throughout the month, against Hemel Hempstead, against Eastbourne Borough, Oxford City, Wealdstone and Maidenhead.
Tariqe Fosu - Fleetwood Town (SkyBet League One) December Appearances: 3 Total Appearances: 7 Goals: 1
Tariqe was in and out of the Fleetwood side during his final month at the club. He started and played 59 minutes against Morecambe, 90 minutes against Wigan 61 minutes against Shrewsbury, grabbing an assist in that final draw against the Shrews. In between those games though, Fosu was an unused substitute against both Crewe and Bury, and the club confirmed he had rejoined Reading following the end of his loan spell.
Dominic Samuel - Gillingham (SkyBet League One) December Appearances: 6 Total Appearances: 10 Goals: 4
DomSam has quickly established himself as Gillingham's number one striker since joining a couple of months ago. He played 90 minutes against Burton, Millwall, Bradford, Colchester and Wigan as well as 83 minutes against Swindon. Samuel also found the net three times during December, scoring the opener in his side's 3-0 win over Millwall, the 70th minute winner against Colchester and the opener in Thursday night's 3-2 defeat to Wigan.
With his loan expiring at the beginning of January and the sale of Nick Blackman to Derby, many fans wondered if they may yet see Samuel in a Reading shirt between now and the end of the season, but the club quickly put that to bed, extending Dominic's loan at Gillingham until the end of January, presumably until they can properly assess the depth they have up front at the end of the transfer window.
Bogdan Vastsuk - Farnborough (Ryman League Premier Division) December Appearances: 6 Total Appearances: 16 Goals: 8
Bogdan Vastsuk also continued his goal-scoring form for Farnborough this month, scoring twice - against Leatherhead and the winner over Burgess Hill Town - and featuring prominently in games against Brentwood, Harrow Borough, Lewes and Staines.
Alongside Lewis Collins, Vastsuk will return to Reading following the conclusion of his loan spell.
Jack Stacey - Barnet (SkyBet League Two) December Appearances: 0 Total Appearances: 2
Stacey was an unused substitute against Yeovil, and returned to Reading a couple of days later following the end of his month-long stay in Barnet.
Andrija Novakovich - Cheltenham Town (Conference National League) December Appearances: 3 Total Appearances: 5
Reading's American striker failed to score in his time at Cheltenham, despite making 5 appearances for the club, 3 of which coming in December. He played 90 minutes against Chelmsford, 73 against Altrincham and 43 against Kidderminster, before returning to his parent club at the beginning of January.
Dominic Hyam - Basingstoke Town (National League South) December Appearances: 4 Total Appearances: 5 Goals: 1
Hyam has established himself as a mainstay in the Basingstoke side over the past month, starting and completing games against Dartford, St Albans City, Sutton United and Hayes & Yeading.
STAR LOANEE:
There's been some notable performances by Reading's loaned-out players over the past month, notably Dominic Samuel, Bogdan Vastsuk and Craig Tanner, but you'd be hard pushed to find a centre back that scored a hat-trick last month, so Rob Dickie's stand-out performance for Cheltenham Town against Chelmsford has earned him this month's award.