The Good, The Bad, The Expected And The Surprises Of Reading’s Retained List

Alex analyses the Royals’ 2023/24 retained list.

We’ve finally received news from the club regarding the status of those who had contracts that were due to expire at the end of this season, so we now have a clearer idea of how the squad will shape ahead of next season and the summer transfer activity. The list, taken from the Reading website, goes as such:

One-year extension options triggered

Femi Azeez, Michael Craig, Jeriel Dorsett, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Joel Pereira and Jayden Wareham.

New contract offered

Kelvin Abrefa and Tivonge Rushesha.

Released

Matty Carson, Nesta Guinness-Walker, Sam Hutchinson and Clinton Mola.

As well as this, the club have confirmed that Dom Ballard, Tom Holmes, Zane Monlouis and Paul Mukairu have returned to their parent clubs after their loan spells with us this season. Naturally, there will be a range of emotions regarding all of this news, which for me, is broken down into four categories: good, bad, expected and surprise. Here is my initial reaction.

The good

• In terms of the players we were most concerned about losing, we’ve been able to retain them. Femi Azeez I think was considered the most “at risk”, but it’s good to see he will be with us for another season.
• It’s also good to see that the club has some level of future-proofing in place, with the majority having options for one-year automatic extensions built into their deals. Our planning around contracts has been historically bad in recent years and it’s great to see that we are starting to improve in this respect.
• It’s also great to see the club is still in discussions with Abrefa and Rushesha to extend their deals. Abrefa in particular has really made a positive impression in the first team in recent times and added more versatility to his game. He’s the kind of player we want to keep around for sure.
• We now have a much clearer idea of the positions that the recruitment team are choosing to focus on, and it would suggest to me that left-back is one of the key areas we’re looking to fix, which is great, since this has been an area that we’ve needed a natural fit for a couple of years now. I am excited to see how our recruitment, or indeed promotion from the academy, progresses over the summer.

The bad

• Mola has left us. I am surprised about how upset I am by this. I didn’t see him necessarily as a first choice for us next season, with reinforcements added, but I liked the idea of keeping him around as a squad player to provide cover for a number of defensive positions. His versatility is quite unique in this team, and really, it only feels like Amadou Mbengue has that similar level. Mola really turned things around over the course of this season and it is a shame to see him leave.

Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images

• Am I the only one who wasn’t aware that Carson’s contract was about to expire? Even so, I really expected him to stay within the club, given his standout performances with the under-21s this season, especially in what is now seemingly his last game against Middlesbrough, and he has even spent time in the first team. Given his position is one that we need more depth in, it’s strange.
• At the risk of being a bit “old man shouting at the clouds” here, as happy as I am to see us trigger the one-year options, I would like to see a bit more with regard to long-term planning. What happens now? Do we sit down with these players and their agents and begin to hash out longer-term deals to tie them down? Has that started already? A one-year option gives us another season with them but it effectively is just kicking the can down the road for another year. I would like our planning to be a little more proactive than reactive and securing the futures of those we intend to keep for the long haul is a good start.

The expected

• Truthfully, this could equally be filed under “good” as well, but cutting loose both Hutchinson and Guinness-Walker was the correct decision to make and important to have done, given they are relics of the past and don’t have a place within the squad. However, it feels vindictive to file that as “good”, as I do wish both of them well for whatever happens next in their careers. We all expected this to happen, it did and now we have freed up wages to allow cover in these key positions of left-back and defensive-midfield/centre-back.
• As relieved as I am to see the players with their one-year extensions triggered, I think most expected the likes of Craig, Dorsett, Ehibhatiomhan, Pereira and Wareham to hang around. It was also good to get the clarity regarding Craig’s situation, as there were some question marks over that. I think this demonstrates we have a core group of players and the strategy for complementing this group over the summer should be in place, even under way.

Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images

The surprises

• As previously mentioned, Mola and Carson leaving are both big surprises for me. Regarding them both, it begs the question: why? Is it because the money on offer wasn’t enough? Were they seen by Ruben Selles/Noel Hunt as expendable? Or had they lost confidence with the broken promises from leadership? Have they just had a better offers from elsewhere? It’s a surprise and I’d love to know the motivation behind the decisions.
• The news has been expected, and while other clubs are further ahead with releasing the news regarding their players, this is still earlier than usual for us. In 2023, the news was released on May 17, so we are nine days ahead there. In 2022, the news was released on May 20. In 2021, it was May 11. It’s earlier than usual for us and, despite the season ending a week earlier than what we are typically used to, this is a good sign of progress regarding planning and communication.

Overall, there are more good things than bad things and fewer surprises than things that we expected to happen. As a result, I think this news will be well received by the fans and give us something to look forward to with future recruitment and academy development. Speaking of which, now we need to wait and see for the news regarding those at academy level and who will be retained and who will be released for the season ahead.