READING FC are hoping to complete the signing of free agent Theo Walcott after he departed Southampton at the end of last season.
The Royals are preparing for life in League One under new boss Ruben Selles who is set to reunite with Walcott having managed him at the Saints last season in the Premier League.
Walcott has been training at Bearwood in recent weeks ahead of hoping to finalise a move.
The Reading squad are currently away in Spain on a pre-season camp ahead of the new campaign, however it is believed that Walcott has stayed in England to find fitness at the club’s training ground.
Despite troubling financial circumstances which continue to challenge the club, they will be hoping to complete several new signings over the summer.
The first-team squad is set to be revamped after relegation from the Championship and departures of numerous key players at the expiration of their contracts, including Yakou Meite and Lucas Joao.
Walcott was close to joining the Royals in the January transfer window, but were not able to negotiate a deal with the Saints due to being under a transfer embargo.
The 34-year-old forward has vast experience at the top level having broke onto the scene with Southampton as a teenager before earning a high profile move to Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in 2006.
Walcott played for the Gunners for more than a decade and netted 108 goals in all competitions in 397 appearances and helped them to win three FA Cups. He scored the opening goal in Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa in the 2015 FA Cup Final.
He also won 47 international caps for England across 10 years and netted eight times, including a hat-trick against Croatia in 2008 in a World Cup qualifying match.
Walcott moved to Everton in 2018 for around £20million and scored 11 times in 85 appearances before making a homecoming return to Southampton in 2021.
