Reading

Dutch midfielder becomes second Stam signing at Reading

Reading have announced that midfielder Joey van den Berg is to join the club on July 1st on a two-year contract. He joins the Championship club after electing to not sign a new contract at Dutch Eredivisie side Heerenveen.

The 30-year-old midfielder has spent his entire playing career in Dutch football, firstly with PEC Zwolle. Van den Berg becomes the second signing of the Jaap Stam era at the Madejski Stadium.

Fellow Dutchman Stam identifies the player as someone who can play in a number of positions. He also describes the player as a winner, and believes he’ll have a big impact on the team next season,

“I’m very happy that we are signing Joey – I believe that he is the type of player we need in the squad.  He is a left-footed midfielder but he is also capable of playing in defence as a centre-back or a left-back, as well as anywhere in the midfield.

“The reasons I wanted to bring him to Reading were that he is physically strong enough for the Championship, and he has character in the sense that he has a winner’s mentality.  Joey tries to get the most from his teammates and he is technically very strong.  He reads the play well, he has a lot of stamina – he has a lot of the right attributes to do well in this league.

“He came back into professional football when I was at PEC Zwolle and immediately he was one of the most important players in the squad.  He is a winner, and I think to do well in this league you need players who have that mentality.”

During his time at Heerenveen, van den Berg scored nine goals. He played just over 100 times for the club.

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