Reading FC have signed former Brighton striker Sam Baldock on a three year deal for an undisclosed fee.
The new number 9 has taken the step down in division in search of more first team football, and he believes he has found that in a switch to the Madejski.
The 29 year old made a total of 94 appearances for the Premier League side, scoring 20 goals. Baldock began his career at MK Dons, and has since played for West Ham and Bristol City before Brighton, scoring a total of 104 career goals.
Boss Paul Clement said of his new signing, “I’m very happy that Sam has joined us here at Reading, having pursued his signature throughout the summer. I always felt he was the right striker for us to bring to this club in terms of his age, his experience and his quality.”*
This is certainly a good move for Baldock, as he is now entering what is perhaps is prime, so he will be wanting to play more regular football and justify the fee spent on him. Whether it is a good move for Reading however remains to be seen. We definitely needed more power up front so from that viewpoint obviously, it makes sense, but I don’t think he is the dream striker we desperately need. Baldock has never scored more than 11 goals in a Championship season, and is his style of play that different to McNulty? Time will tell, for all we know, he could become a real fan favourite.
Quote taken from https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2018/july/sam-baldock-is-a-royal/
