Who Do Reading Most Need To Keep Hold Of In January?

The Royals are at risk of losing players this month to generate vital funds, but who should the club be most and least stubborn about cashing in on?

Happy 2025 and so on, and so forth. Though it must be said that January is not a month that many people look forward to, myself included. The days are too short, it’s too cold, it feels a million miles away until the next pay day and the diet isn’t working the way I’d like it to.

January is also that “fun” time of year when teams have an opportunity to correct squad weaknesses - whether brought about by not being able to complete their summer business, a loss of a player due to injury, or a new manager looking to shape their squad in their image. Which is great. When you’re allowed to sign players. Especially when you’re allowed to sign actual players for actual money.

Those are both privileges seemingly far beyond us in this window, and we are probably unlikely to even be able to bring in any loan signings, or even extend the loan of Chem Campbell, he the only summer arrival to bolster a small squad.

Instead, we are the prey for other clubs who are either upwardly mobile or more cash-rich, which is pretty much most other clubs. The vultures will be circling, and we have to prepare ourselves for a tough few weeks. Wow, as I write this, I realise how bleak I am being. Sorry, folks! Maybe it won’t be all so bad.

Herein contains a review of our squad, ranking players who we just can’t afford to lose, those we don’t want to see go but could find a way to survive without, players who it would be a shame to lose but aren’t critical to success, and players who we probably wouldn’t miss or notice too much if they did bid us farewell.

I’ve tried to rank them, with explanations about what was going through my head while doing the ranking, before you tell me I’m wrong. Once you’ve read the explanations, by all means, tell me why I’m wrong!

For the love of football, chain these players to the Bearwood radiators and DO NOT let them leave

1. Tyler Bindon

The other worry about Bindon, besides being just an exceptionally talented footballer, is that his contract does run out at the end of the season, and it’s vanishingly hard to see him staying any longer without either a one-year extension clause in place or new ownership. In some ways, getting money for him while we can would be a kindness/necessity we can’t afford to turn our noses up at.

He will leave one day. He’s too good to stay at this level for much longer and the Premier League does beckon for him, one day, probably in the not-too-distant future. However, he just makes our defence so much damn better, and it is frankly a very scary thought to not see him in a line-up.

While we have some level of depth in the centre-back positions, owing to the players that our academy continue to develop, there is just no one who can do the things he does for us. He is irreplaceable.

We must find a way to get him to stay, until the end of next season, before selling him on for some sizeable transfer fee. It gives us the time to develop him, get him tied down to a nice, long-term contract and then the ability to command a reasonable fee for him when the time comes and, by then, we would have had time to develop someone to step up and cover for him. That’s got to be the way that the chapter closes for him, and not for a reduced fee in January to keep the lights on.

2. Lewis Wing

Stand-in captain. Most talented player. One of a very few who have the ability to really turn the game on its head. Really, the only reason that he is number two in this list is that he’s tied down on a longer contract than Bindon and therefore is more likely to be difficult to prise away. Please, whoever is listening, make it difficult for him to be prised away!

We can argue that he hasn’t played as well as he did last season, and while there is some truth in that, the reality is that it is like comparing apples and pears because his role this season is a different one. Instead of being more box-to-box as a midfielder, his job has been to screen the back four and effectively quarter-back passes to split opposition defences open. And he’s doing this excellently, so you’d expect the goal contributions to be fewer.

An ever-present for us, and clearly good enough to be a regular in the league above, his contributions both as a player and a leader are essentially irreplaceable. We have Michael Craig waiting in the wings, as well as Jay Senga, but it will be a while yet before either can/could ever reach Wing’s level – that’s simply how good he is.

3. Sam Smith

I’ve advocated that he needs time to be away from the first team, and that number four on the list should be the person to cover him while he gets that rest. However, the reason why he is at number three on this list and not number four is because he is quite literally our only established striker.

Jayden Wareham needs a lot more game time to be ready. Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan is plying a trade on the wing these days and hasn’t yet had a chance to convince as a central striker. Basil Tuma is at the start of his development and Harvey Knibbs is effective as cover, but not anything more.

No Smith would be a big problem for us. We’ve seen it in the shorter term during injury layoffs how difficult the role he does is, and perhaps I for one have been too slow to give him credit for that. He is irreplaceable, however, but just because of his output there is no natural replacement for him in that role.

4. Harvey Knibbs

Much like the three names that preceded him, the reality is that you pretty much could have all of these as a joint number-one ranking, such is their importance to the team for a variety of different reasons. These four are, respectfully, just simply head and shoulders above their other team members for their importance to the squad.

Knibbs’ importance comes from his engine and versatility. When he plays, we play better. When he plays centrally, he is such a machine in his pressing, intercepting and tackling that he provides an important outlet to make quick transitions between defence and attack.

There is just nobody else in this squad that can do what he does as well as he does, and the fact that he provides a good level of cover in a couple of other positions such as left-winger and centre-forward is helpful, given our lack of depth in those positions.

Lads, think about last year’s January leavers. You’re better off staying. Please?

5. Joel Pereira

El Gato was a difficult one to place. Much like his nickname, he is like a cat balancing on the fence between these two categories. He is undoubtably our number one in goal and we undoubtedly look better with him in the side. As such, this would give him a place at the big table in the top category.

However, we are not short on goalkeepers. David Button is, largely, going to be able to provide cover and Coniah Boyce-Clarke has the potential to flourish under Noel Hunt. As well as this, Tom Norcott is in the background doing his stuff in the academy set-up and didn’t disappoint when called upon recently in the EFL Trophy match/Red Card Bingo event against Walsall.

With these factors in mind, while it would undoubtedly (that word again. It’s undoubtedly undoubtedle that I undoubtedly love a doubtless concept. Without doubt) be a wrench to see Pereira go and do bits elsewhere, we do *theoretically* have the cover. And that’s the difference here.

If we were a club like most others, then he’d be unsellable. But we’re not, so he’s not. Thems the breaks.

6. Michael Craig

Did you think he’d be this high up? If I am honest with myself, when composing this piece, the fragments in my brain had him a little lower. Or, at least, others above him. But then I did some actual thinking. Rare, I know. Craig’s quite good, but he’s quietly been rather effective for us this season. Not perfect, but when you consider the journey, he’s really nailed down that right-back spot.

What puts him this high though isn’t necessarily his ability to play right-back, though versatility always helps in a small squad. It’s two things – he’s almost always available (bar a recent absenece) and, like Knibbs, has quite an engine on him.

The other: he’s also quietly becoming a very progressive passer of the ball. It’s likely that he will one day move back into his (more favoured? Hard to say now) position in the centre of the pitch, screening the back four.

But his time at right-back has seen him really develop his passing game. For me, this makes him our natural Wing replacement/back-up. Whether it’s because of vultures or Father Time, Wing can’t or won’t be with us forever - or be this ‘different kind of gravy’ forever, or uninjured forever.

Letting Craig go would be a lunacy if the vultures are circling over Wing.

7. Amadou Mbengue

I love him, we all love him and he loves us. Does he deserve to be higher up the list? Yep. Why isn’t he? Well, despite being our first choice, we are spoilt for depth in central defence.

If we lost him, I’d shed many salty tears at losing our cult hero, but we have the numbers to step up and cover him. At this moment in time, that most likely seems to be Harlee Dean, but it’s not impossible to see Jeriel Dorsett shift centrally once more and see Tyler Bindon go to the right of the back two.

However, I want to be clear: I *will* riot if he leaves in January.

8. Jeriel Dorsett

Our first-choice left-back who is not a left-back. So, yeah, it’s quite important that an area of the team we don’t have any cover for this season due to injuries in the academy has some, you know, cover. He’s not irreplaceable, given we do have other square pegs for the left-back round hole such as Andre Garcia, Abraham Kanu, Tivonge Rushesha and Kelvin Abrefa, but he’s the best option currently, when available.

Much like Craig, you feel that the role he plays for us at the moment is not going to be forever. And, much like Craig, I feel like his reading of the game and development of his passing and ball progression will be huge assets when he does move to the left side of the centre-back pairing.

9. Charlie Savage

This may be the most controversial one. Our midfield is pretty much set: Wing drops a little deeper, we have Knibbs and then it is one of Savage or Ben Elliott. And, in this sense, if we are collecting funds to keep the club running, then it’s likely they will gather interest, and if you’re asking me which I’d keep, it’d be Savage.

Here’s the why: he’s left-footed (so provides a more natural balance on the left side of the midfield), he covers more distance, he’s a bit more physical and, above all else, he’s a goal scorer. The problem with all these things is that, naturally, being all of those things makes him the more sellable asset because he’s likely to garner more interest and have a higher price tag.

But I’m hedging my bets and saying that, if it’s Savage or Elliott, we’re better off keeping Savage. Though again, ideal-world stuff, both staying would just be lovely.

10. Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan

There’s a bit of a gap between the importance of Savage and Ehibhatiomhan, in my opinion. The latter is quite highly ranked by virtue of being in an area of the pitch where we don’t have a huge amount of depth, but startling less experience. Think of it like this: once Campbell is gone, Ehibhatiomhan is our most experienced winger.

I know this will be controversial but I don’t think he’s been quite at it for us this season. I think, longer-term, his future should be through the centre, but largely he’s doing well enough for us out wide. When he comes back from injury, we will be stronger for it and, crucially, I think some actual rest for a change will have done him so good and he will have a strong second half of the season.

For this reason, as well as the others, he’s a key component of our young side and we really shouldn’t be looking to sell him.

11. Andre Garcia

Number 11 is someone you could reasonably imagine taking the actual number 11 shirt in the squad, should he not be poached from us: Andre Garcia, our second-choice left-back - but who should probably be our second- or even first-choice right-winger. This versatility does make him a very useful squad option for us, as well as his talent.

He offers us a direct threat with his ability to fearlessly run with the ball, he’s quick and he’s able to open up space for us to attack. I don’t believe he’s a natural left-back, but having him there gives us the option to attack the game a bit more, though it does also mean we can be exploited between the gap left behind him.

His contract situation worries me, as it does with many other players, and if this list were compiled on potential then he would be higher up it. You’d like to think his future is with us, as this would be the best place for him to continue his development. However, he’s a very talented footballer and it would be a surprise to think that other clubs (much like Brighton & Hove Albion did with Caylan Vickers) aren’t keeping their beady little eyes on him.

12. Louie Holzman

I wouldn’t have placed him this highly two months ago. He’s almost out of nowhere become the third-/fourth-choice centre-back, and I’m all for that.

It feels like it’s taken an age for him to break out of the academy, and he’s seen much younger players advance ahead of him (Nelson Abbey and Jeriel Dorsett, perhaps Tyler Bindon to an extent given he did do a tiny bit of time in the academy).

While not two-footed, he does have a decent left peg on him and has shown in recent games that, while on a learning curve, it’s not a steep curve and he can do the business at this level. The importance of his development, and therefore his importance to us, has grown as we approach January and we continue to see the first-choice pairing of Bindon and Mbgenue continue to do bits which the vultures invariably know all about.

Basically, he is going to be a first-choice starter for us one day so we could do with keeping him around.

13. Kelvin Abrefa

It might be a bit strange to have someone here who has hardly featured this season, but the reality is that it’s due to unfortunate injuries. Once he’s back at it, he’ll cut the mustard for us.

He’s versatile, giving us an option that can play on either side (though far more comfortable on the right), he’s quick, he’s got attacking intent and he’s an actual, natural full-back! Imagine that?

Though his role is something more of a squad player for now, when Craig does move to midfield, you’d imagine it would then be Abrefa’s spot to lose. Much like Holzman, he’s a very useful squad player to have and his importance will only continue to grow.

Stay here and be appreciated, but we respect the fact you may have to go to keep the club running

14. Ben Elliott

Much of the ethos of the Savage part of this article can be applied here, and Elliott is unfortunate to be listed here. But we do have such a strong engine room, and if we are going to have to sell someone, it’s a difficult financial-sense case to make for keeping him.

I don’t want to see him go but it’s not impossible to envisage Tyler Sackey or Tivonge Rushesha stepping up to fill in here.

15. Coniah Boyce-Clarke

You’ll notice that he is ranked higher than Button here, and this is largely down to his age. I think his standing within the squad has taken a bit of a hit this season, but I also believe there is a good goalkeeper in there, if given the opportunity.

However, we are pretty well stocked for goalkeepers, so this doesn’t mean we should be turning our noses up at any offers that may come in for him. Most likely they won’t during January, and it would be great to see him stay and develop into a real challenger for Pereira’s spot.

16. Mamadi Camara

As someone who wasn’t even on the first-team radar last year, he’s done well to work his way into such an important squad standing. Having said this, while being versatile, it doesn’t feel like he has really nailed down a place in the starting XI.

Without Campbell, you suspect he’s the best person to play off the right (when Ehibhatiomhan returns) but he is also fighting for that spot with Adrian Akande. Though Camara is playing more regularly, his attacking output hasn’t been largely brilliant and it’s telling that, in games where we’re reduced to 10 men, he’s the first off.

He does have room to develop and will get to a level where he is performing better, though with back-up options available to us from the academy (Emmanuel Osho, as an example), we could potentially survive without him. Again though, would be great to have him stick around.

17. Andy Yiadom

The forgotten man, despite being captain. It’s hard to see how he gets back into the starting XI with the options we have available, but he remains a useful presence for us given his leadership, experience and ability to put those things to use when coming off the bench to a) give Craig some rest and b) close out a game.

He could even be an option at left-back, for all we know. Anyway, given that his deal runs out at the end of the season and with the injury problems he has had, it would make a lot of sense to accept a decent offer if one came in for him. He largely ranks as high as he does for the off-pitch influence rather than the on-pitch stuff.

18. Jayden Wareham

Wareham is getting more and more opportunities as the season goes on, but it does seem his role is as an attacker to come on the final stages to give Smith some rest and use his physical and energetic nature to press and harry tired defences into making a mistake.

This is all fine, but he will need to start adding goals to the repertoire at first-team level to see his value to us increase. He still remains important because he is number one in the queue to cover for Smith, if Smith either gets injured or leaves. Otherwise, truth be told, he could well be a bit lower in the rankings.

19. Tivonge Rushesha

Similar to the theoretically larger gap between nine and 10 on this list, it’s similar here between 18 and 19. Rushesha is not particularly active in the first team but he is a known quantity to Hunt, which is useful. I’ve wrote it before, but I think he has a lot to offer this team as a squad player.

He’s also a very useful option to have around the first team given his ability to play in either of the full-back roles or as part of the midfield, mostly more defensively, but he can push up a little further as an eight if needed.

Rushesha is another case where, if a decent offer came in - and considering the financial logic - it would be difficult to turn down. However, his ability to provide injury cover for us ought to be key to give us some semblance of squad depth.

20. Abraham Kanu

Kanu is one who, until quite recently, probably would have been part of the pack in position 23. However, he is starting to get more game time and the re-invention of him as a left-back is an intriguing possibility.

He is very, very early on in his first-team career with Reading so he is another player that it would make a lot of sense to try and keep him around for the future, having promise and a lot of potential. However, he is not much more than an occasional substitute and as such, again, if a decent offer came in then we’d have to seriously consider it.

21. Adrian Akande

Akande is a bit of a difficult one to place – he has more first-team minutes this season than a few of the others above him, but his place in the side never feels guaranteed. I suspect he is another one whose talent will become more obvious with more minutes and time to develop, given his young age, and he does offer us depth in an area of the pitch we’re not overly abundant in, particularly with experience.

Once again though, *CTRL+C, CTRL+V* he is not much more than an occasional substitute and as such, again, if a decent offer came in then we’d have to seriously consider it, despite his potential.

22. Harlee Dean

Has anyone else noticed this, but Dean is on something of a redemption arc at the moment?

Editor’s note: For the record, Alex wrote the first draft of this piece before the Mansfield Town game, so he called the redemption arc before Dean started against Cambridge United and Charlton Athletic (though he did still want Dean in 22nd place).

Dean’s gradually becoming a very solid and reliable presence for us. He doesn’t do anything spectacular, and is unlikely to start many games for us, but he’s a very useful option to bring off the bench to provide injury cover or to help close out a game, as has been the case for much of the last two months or so.

He’s only recently leapfrogged Holzman into being third-choice centre-back. Credit is due there, because it wasn’t so long ago that this possibility didn’t seem like, well, a possibility. However, again, another player who I imagine doesn’t have a long-term future with us after the summer and it would make a lot of sense to take the money if offered it.

23. Tyler Sackey/Ashqar Ahmed/Jay Senga/Emmanuel Osho/Basil Tuma

These lads are all much of a muchness, so I have grouped them all together. While they all play different roles on the pitch, they have all had sniffs at the first team this season and managed to make a few minutes.

Not enough minutes to suggest that they’re going to make a significant impact on the starting XI this season, though that could change if we need cover to replace any outgoings from said XI, but they will be seen on the bench quite often and perhaps be good mid-week rotation options to help others get some rest in their legs.

If we measured on potential, then they would all be in the category much higher up. However, in the here and now, as good as they could be, they aren’t quite getting enough minutes for us yet to be able to say we would miss them massively.

Though with the future in mind, we absolutely need to see them hang around. But it would be hard to pass up some cash if it a decent wedge of it were offered our way for any of their services and, as much as that would be a gut wrench a la Vickers or Taylan Harris last January, you could at least sympathise with the business logic.

24. David Button

It was a choice between Button and Boyce Clarke for this position and I’ve opted to put Button here, mostly because of his age. While Boyce-Clarke has the time to develop and improve into the goalkeeper we need him to be, Button is at the other end of his career.

His footwork is great, and he is bold in coming out of his area to claim the ball as a sweeper. But he’s not always been the best shot-stopper for us and, with a contract due to run out in the summer, and ample cover with goalkeepers, we’d be mad not to accept an offer for cash money if it came in.

I’m not sure how he will be remembered once he does leave us, but I think it’s important to have on record that he’s not as bad as people would have you believe and he is a really good dressing room presence, I believe. These things matter, and shouldn’t be forgotten about.

Thanks for the memories – you’re always welcome at the SCL

25. Chem Campbell

I’d like to see him stay, but frankly, it just doesn’t seem like it will happen, as much as Noel Hunt or we would want it to. If in some alternate universe he does somehow stay until the end of the season, he’d go in at number 14, just in case you wondered.

26. Dean Bouzanis

Not his fault really, but he was never really the right fit for this club and just needs a fresh start somewhere else. It’s hard to remember he is even still one of ours, to be honest, given the fact we’ve farmed him out on loan whenever possible since relegation.