Former Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers players training with Reading FC as other trialists revealed | OneFootball

Former Coventry City winger Jodi Jones and Blackburn Rovers midfielder Jacob Davenport are both training with Championship side Reading, according to an update from Reading Chronicle reporter James Earnshaw.

29-year-old Jones’ playing time at the CBS Arena was severely limited by injury troubles in recent years, making just nine league appearances over the past three seasons for the Sky Blues with all of those displays coming last season.

However, he may have found it hard to force his way into contention in the Midlands last season regardless, with the likes of Matt Godden, Viktor Gyokeres and Callum O’Hare all performing well in attacking for Mark Robins’ men.

Quiz: 21 statements about former Reading FC players – Are they true or false?

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Chris Gunter has just signed for MK Dons

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Davenport, meanwhile, has also suffered with his own injury troubles and with this, was released on the expiration of his contract at Ewood Park in the summer.

The Royals are currently in desperate need of more central midfielders and Davenport could be a useful addition if he can stay fit, even with the arrival of Nottingham Forest man Tyrese Fornah yesterday.

However, they aren’t the only players training with the Berkshire outfit at this stage, with left-back Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill, ex-Brentford man Julian Jeanvier, former Sheffield Wednesday player Sam Hutchinson, midfielder Grant Ward, winger Josh Murphy and free agent forward Connor Wickham also believed to be training with the second-tier side.

The Verdict:

Considering Jones’ injury record, it may be worth the Royals taking a look at one of their academy players instead because they can’t afford to take up a precious squad spot by signing someone who has barely played in recent years.

Wickham is similar with his injury troubles and this is why they should turn their attention away from the former Crystal Palace man if they are able to get a deal for Shane Long over the line.

Jeanvier may have suffered his own long-term setback whilst at Brentford – but he could be worth giving a chance to as the Berkshire outfit look to be much more solid next year.

It will also be fascinating to see how Ormonde-Ottewill gets on – because Paul Ince’s side are in desperate need of a couple of left-backs and the 26-year-old could be a good option to have if he can impress.

Decisions will have to be made on these players sooner rather than later though because Ince needs to sign more players before the season starts. However, they shouldn’t sign players just for the sake of filling out their squad.

They may be limited in the quality of players they will be able to recruit this summer – but bringing players in who are good enough and will mix well with the first-team squad will be important.