McDermott excited to have McCleary

Reading manager Brian McDermott is pleased to have grasped the signature of Garath McCleary, saying he has finally ‘come of age’.

The 25-year old signed on a free transfer on Wednesday from Forest, agreeing to a three-year deal. The former Slough winger had struggled to gain a regular starting place at Forest for the past few years but has proved what he is capable of in the past few months, triggering interest from Reading and McDermott.

McDermott told the RFC official site: ‘We’ve been working on this for a little while now, since we got promotion. It was really important to me that we got a player of Garath’s quality through the door. He was at Slough, an old club of mine, about seven or eight years ago. And I’ve known about him for a long time now.’

‘He’s coming of age. He scored four goals in one game in the Championship last season and he’s got a real eye for a goal. He’s got real pace and an energy about him. He’s quick, he can cross it, he’s got a trick, and he can score goals. He’s young, he wants to work hard and improve. In all the players that we’ve got here, that’s a key attribute.’

McCleary will give competition to current wingers Jobi McAnuff and Jimmy Kebe, with Hal Robson-Kanu another option for McDermott. This deal could mean a possible outgoing for Royals winger Michail Antonio, with his most likely destination being Sheffield Wednesday. The 22-year old made a big impact at Hillsborough during his loan spell and Dave Jones is keen to sign him on a permanent deal.