ROYALS CLOSE TO COMPLETING FIRST SUMMER SIGNING
READING FC are reportedly close to completing the signing of Middlesbrough goalkeeper Joe Lumley.
The 27-year-old goalkeeper who has made 34 league appearances for Boro is set to complete a loan move to Reading.
Paul Ince and his new recruitment team are set for a busy summer window with several senior players contracts set to expire at the end of the month.
However, they are facing the extra challenge of being under a transfer embargo for the second consecutive season which will limit them to signing free agents and loan players.
With the expiration of Orjan Nyland’s contract, who spent the latter end of the 2021/22 with Reading, and Luke Southwood reportedly being told he can depart, the Royals are in the market to sign a new goalkeeper.
It appears that Lumley, currently at Middlesbrough, has become a top target for the club after being told that he is free to leave the club on loan.
Lumley started his senior career at Queens Park Rangers and made 77 league appearances for the club after making his first-team debut in 2015.
After loan spells with Bishop’s Stortford, Accrignton Stanley, Stevenage, Bristol Rovers, Blackpool, Gillingham and Doncaster Rovers during his time at QPR, Lumley eventually made a permanent switch to Middlesbrough in 2021.
In his first season with Boro, Lumley played 34 times and finished the season with 34 goals conceded and 13 clean sheets in the league.
Across all competitions, Lumley played 39 times, conceded 42 goals and kept 14 clean sheets but is set to be loaned out by Chris Wilder’s team for the upcoming campaign.