Reading had a somewhat fascinating January 2017 transfer window, with the then-Championship team in contention for promotion under Jaap Stam.
After performing admirably in the first half of the 2016/17 season, the Thai owners were always likely to support Stam in the transfer market, and five signings were made.
The quintet’s collective performance fell short of expectations among Royals fans.
On paper, Reece Oxford and Lewis Grabban were excellent loan additions, and the latter did contribute some vital goals.
However, Stam frequently played him out of position, and he was not always able to flourish as a result.
Oxford, a former West Ham player, did not have a significant influence, while loan signing Jordon Mutch struggled during his time at the Select Car Leasing Stadium after a short transition from Crystal Palace.
Those three loan signings arrived late in the window, following the arrival of permanent signings Tiago Ilori and Adrian Popa earlier.
Ilori appeared to be a fantastic signing, and to his credit, he remained healthy for a significant portion of his time in Berkshire before moving on to Sporting Lisbon.
But he did not always live up to expectations.
Adrian Popa’s spell at Reading FC didn’t work out for the best
Popa, meanwhile, signed from Steaua Bucharest for an undisclosed amount – and appeared set to be a useful acquisition.
He was brought in to give Roy Beerens and Garath McCleary greater competition for a starting berth, but he struggled to establish himself as a regular starter and improve wing play.
He showed a lot of enthusiasm and promise, but he only scored one goal and assisted twice for the Royals in his senior career.
| Adrian Popa’s spell at Reading | |
|---|---|
| (All competitions) | |
| Appearances | 17 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 2 |
After failing to appear in any of the Royals’ play-off games at the end of the 2016/17 season and seldom appearing throughout the first half of the 2017/18 season, with Mo Barrow and Sone Aluko arriving during the 2017 summer window, it was no surprise that he was loaned out to Al-Taawon in January 2018.
Later that year, he signed a loan deal with Ludogorets and spent the rest of the 2018/19 season in Bulgaria. And the winger returned to Steaua Bucharest on a temporary basis for 2019/20 before being released in the summer of 2020.
Despite spending three and a half years with the Berkshire club, the player made only a few appearances in blue and white.
With this in mind, his time at the SCL Stadium cannot be seen as a success, despite his minor role in the club’s 2016/17 promotion push.
He may have been a better value for money than Inter Milan’s George Puscas, who cost £8 million, but did not have a significant impact on the Royals’ success.
But that’s not exactly a glowing endorsement of Popa, given that Puscas and Sone Aluko, along with Emerse Fae, are regarded as two of the worst value-for-money buys the club has ever made.
Adrian Popa will still cherish Sheffield Wednesday moment
One moment Popa will really cherish is his goal at Hillsborough.
The Royals were solidly in the promotion mix at the time, and they were facing a promotion competitor, thus this match in South Yorkshire on March 17, 2017, was significant.
Yann Kermorgant scored in the first half to put the visitors ahead, although the Owls had the majority of the chances, with Ali Al-Habsi’s saves preserving the score at 1-0 until late on.
In the 90th minute, Danny Williams’ header and speed allowed the Royals to pull away, and the American made a crucial tackle.
This challenge ended in the ball dropping to Popa, who was able to slither past one defender, pop the ball past Morgan Fox, and touch it into an empty net, with Keiren Westwood out of his goal due to a late corner.
The Berkshire side secured their place in the play-offs and increased their lead over Wednesday by five points with this victory.
That contribution from the Romanian should not be overlooked, and Reading fans do not hold him in low regard, but his time in Berkshire did not end well.
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