Reading secured the signing of Joe Lumley on a season-long loan from fellow Championship side Middlesbrough this week, with manager Paul Ince having his say on the new acquisition.
Reading finished in 21st position last season and so they are looking to strengthen all over the pitch in order to avoid being sucked into another relegation battle next time out.
With new boss Paul Ince at the helm, he will want to use his connections to utilise the transfer market to his side’s advantage. And he has done just that, signing a player from his former side Middlesbrough this week.
The Royals made their first signing of the summer with Boro goalkeeper Joe Lumley arriving on loan.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Ince spoke out about the move.
“The goalkeeping position was a difficult one to solve for this club last season,” he said.
“So it was a priority to add strength in depth to that corner of the dressing room ahead of a brand new challenge in 2022-23.
“Lumley is a tall, confident, capable young keeper and he will be hungry to stake a claim for the goalkeeper position when he joins us at the start of pre-season training this week.”
The difficult situation Ince is referring to is that Reading started four different goalkeepers throughout the campaign. Luke Southwood, Orjan Nyland, Karl Hein and Rafael were all rotated and now Ince wants a regular starter, something he hopes Lumley can offer him.
The 27-year-old was allowed to leave Middlesbrough along with his goalkeeping counterpart Luke Daniels. The Teessiders are wanting to go in a different direction and are looking for an experienced shot stopper to take the number one spot next season.
The new signing will come in to compete with Southwood and youngsters Coniah Boyce-Clarke and Harvey Collins for a place in the starting eleven each week. He will join up with his Reading teammates ahead of pre-season in the coming days.
