Reading FC could land big cash windfall from scarily good talent: View | OneFootball

The Royals could have another excellent talent on their hands - and could make a decent amount from his potential future sale.

League One side Reading have benefitted majorly from their academy in recent years, with Michael Olise generating the club plenty of cash.

The fact his release clause at the Select Car Leasing Stadium was only £8m is upsetting, because he was worth more than that when he left for Crystal Palace.

But with the Royals able to insert a release clause into his deal, according to The Guardian, they have been able to benefit from his move to Bayern Munich.

That money could even help to keep the Berkshire side afloat, amid their current ownership issues.

It's no secret that Dai Yongge relied on loans from Rob Couhig's party to keep the club in business over the summer, with Couhig's group previously hopeful of securing a takeover of the Berkshire side.

Unfortunately, that takeover has fallen through and because of this, they have been unable to use the free agent market to boost their squad after the summer transfer window closed.

The fact this saga dragged on also meant they were only able to secure one addition during the previous window, with Chem Campbell arriving on a short-term loan deal from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

This has left the Royals with a major lack of depth in many areas, with youngster Abraham Kanu effectively the club's fourth-choice centre-back option, central midfielder Michael Craig starting at right-back and right-back Kelvin Abrefa starting on the left last Saturday.

Andre Garcia's 2024/25 involvement at Reading

For much of the 2023/24 campaign, and during the early stages of this term, Jeriel Dorsett (pictured above) has been the club's main left-back option.

And with Matty Carson, Nesta Guinness-Walker and Clinton Mola departing during the summer, the Berkshire side have been even more reliant on Dorsett, who played more as a centre-back during the earlier stages of his career.

Unfortunately, he has been ruled out of action for four to six weeks due to an ankle injury and that means one of Abrefa or Garcia will need to step up and start regularly whilst Dorsett is out of action.

Andy Yiadom could have played there, but he's out with an injury too.

Abrefa played on Saturday, but it was Garcia who started at left-back on Tuesday against Burton Albion, with the teenager putting in an exceptional performance.

His willingness to challenge for the ball also led to the first goal in midweek - but his all-round performance deserves praising.

This isn't the first time he has been involved in the first team this season, making three starts in his seven competitive appearances, with two of those starts coming in cup competitions.

Ahead of Saturday's clash against Rotherham United, it's unclear whether he will start or whether Abrefa will get the nod, but he's certainly made a good case to be in the first 11 again this weekend.

Andre Garcia could generate Reading a big windfall in the future

As mentioned at the top of the article, the Royals have benefitted hugely from some of their academy graduates in recent years.

Off the field, Olise's success has handed the club some much-needed cash, and some academy graduates on the pitch have helped to make a real difference.

Abrefa did well on Saturday, Garcia did very well in midweek, Dorsett has been an adequate option, Craig has stepped in well at right-back and the likes of Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan and Sam Smith have been important figures in the final third.

In January, fellow academy graduates Nelson Abbey, Tom Holmes and Tom McIntyre were sold to raise cash and Garcia is another player who could generate a decent amount.

Considering he's only 16 and has already stepped up well to the first team, he could be the next big thing at the SCL Stadium.

He needs to be tied down to a long-term deal when he turns 17 to give the Berkshire side the best chance of securing a decent fee for him in the future.

If they want to make an attractive offer though, they will need to put their hand in their pocket and they may need to wait for a change of ownership before they can offer him a sufficient package.

Keeping him will be crucial, because it's clear that he has a high ceiling and could make the club millions in the future.

If the Berkshire side can sell him for a decent amount, they should be able to use that money to make some shrewd additions in the transfer market.