With Sam Smith and Wrexham AFC showing interest, Reading FC said, “Vultures are circling.”

With Sam Smith and Wrexham AFC showing interest, Reading FC said, “Vultures are circling.”

Both Sam Smith and Andre Garcia of Reading FC may depart the team before the deadline; Southampton is pursuing

the latter, while Wrexham is pursuing the former.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Premier League team is interested in the 17-year-old left-back. They made a first

offer of almost £2 million for Garcia, but the Royals turned it down.

Before the transfer market closes on Monday, Football League World exclusively disclosed that Wrexham is

interested in Reading’s top striker. The possibility of a major player being sold is very real given the club’s financial

circumstances.

Reading FC verdict issued as Sam Smith eyed by Wrexham

When asked if his worst fears are coming true, Football League World’s Reading fan pundit Johnny Hunt said, “It’s

not a surprise that the vultures are circling around our players. There’s not long to go until the window ends and you

hope that we can somehow get through without having any players sold, but we all know how football works.” Smith

should get a better move than to another League One side if he wanted it, but the Royals have been told to stand firm

on their price tag because they are unable to find a replacement for the forward.

“Until the ownership issue is resolved, we are unable to award contracts after the summer. It seems unlikely that it

will be resolved during the upcoming week.

“We continue to have faith even though it has taken 18 months and God knows how long it has taken to get this far and nothing is close yet.

“Players must pay a fair price if they wish to attend. We need the money to justify it.

“With regards to Sam Smith being eyed up by Wrexham? I don’t want him to go, because we aren’t going to be able

to replace him. He’s a very good striker for us and has been at this level.

“He has played at the League One level for that reason, no harm intended. However, aside from the outcome against

Stevenage last night, you speak of Wrexham as a team that is thriving.

“The top two are predicted to rise, but for someone like that, as well as for their own growth and potential, joining

them would be a no-brainer.

“Sam Smith would fit in with their style of play and everything else. But I don’t want him to leave; end of.

“He’s a Reading lad and we need him and we need everyone to stick together and help us get through another tricky

period at the club.

“But we just don’t know what will happen. We have to hope and pray that we get through the transfer window closing

with the same team and squad that we have now.” “Guercia is the same, you know. He’s 17 years old and going to a

club to sit on the bench isn’t going to help his development.”

Reading’s financial woes could mean a sale ahead of deadline day

Smith is under contract at play-off chasing Reading until 2026. However, the club’s well-documented financial crisis

under the tumultuous ownership of Dai Yongge means they are always susceptible to losing their best assets, of

which Smith is most certainly one.

Reading have, naturally, struggled to hold on to key players recently, and there is every chance either of Garcia or

Smith being the latest to depart for financial reasons. For now, the priority remains funding the club on a day-to-day

basis.

A sale could ease their financial woes in the meantime, given the future of the club hangs in the balance, even if that

is a bitter pill to swallow for a side defying the odds in the circumstances. Selling him to a rival in Wrexham may be

even more difficult to accept as well.