Reading are ‘closing in’ on the appointment of former Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, and Watford boss Chris Wilder, reports Football Insider.
Wilder, 55, looks set for a hasty return to management with relegated Championship outfit Reading. The Royals finished the 2022/23 season in 22nd place of the Championship table, relegating them into League One after a nine-year spell in the Championship.
Football Insider say that ‘talks are underway over a deal’ and that ‘all parties increasingly hopeful of reaching an agreement’. It comes after Wilder started the 2022/23 campaign as Middlesbrough manager before being replaced by Michael Carrick early on, though Wilder returned towards the end of the season with Watford.
Wilder has won several promotions as a manger, notably from League Two with Northampton Town in 2016, and with Sheffield United from League One in 2017 and then from the Championship in 2019.
A smart appointment?
Wilder’s stock has dropped somewhat. His tenure at Middlesbrough promised bigger things, but he left and Carrick went on to turn it around, before Wilder took on a very difficult job at Watford and ultimately failed to get a tune out of the team.
But he’s showed no hesitation in jumping back into football and he takes on another difficult job in Berkshire. Reading have their own issues off the pitch and they’ll have a lot of work to do on the playing squad this summer as they gear up for a very difficult League One campaign.
The Royals though have made a strong start to the summer by appointing a manager with Football League pedigree and so they’ll hope that they can at least challenge for the top six next time round.
