Reading FC have started their search for a new first-team manager after the club took the decision to sack Noel Hunt at the weekend.
The Royals sit just above the League One relegation zone in 19th position following a disappointing start to the campaign which started with high expectations in the summer following Rob Couhig’s takeover.
Here are five options Reading could look at when appointing their new manager.
Michael Carrick
A relatively inexperienced option, but one with a high ceiling.
Carrick had a glittering playing career having won multiple trophies during his 12-year spell with Manchester United and was well regarded at the club as a young coach after working as part of Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff and then with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He took his first role as a first-team manager with Middlesbrough in October 2022 and had an excellent start as his side won 16 of his first 23 matches in charge.
Having taken over the team when they were just above the relegation places, Boro finished in 4th position before losing out to Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals.
They finished the 2023/24 campaign in 8th position, just outside the play-off places, but was rewarded with a new three-year contract.
However, after finishing 10th the next season, Carrick was sacked in June.
Matt Bloomfield
The most likely appointment given his links with the owners and CEO Joe Jacobson.
The 41-year-old was recently sacked by Luton Town and has been linked with a return to manager at Reading.
Bloomfield took over his first job as a manager with Colchester United in September 2022 before he departed to join Couhig’s Wycombe Wanderers in February 2023 to take over from Gareth Ainsworth.
They finished in 10th place in the 2023/24 season and then made a superb start to their campaign in 2024/25 before he made the decision to join Championship Luton.
Despite winning six of their final 12 matches, Luton were relegated down to League One having suffered back-to-back relegations and he was sacked by the Hatters in October with the team in 11th place in League One.
Luke Williams
The 44-year-old is out of work and hunting for a new job having been dismissed by Championship side Swansea City in February 2025.
He took over at the Swans in January 2024 and finished the campaign in 14th place, but was sacked in February after a run of seven defeats in nine matches.
He was manager at Swindon Town from 2015-2017 and then managed at Notts County from 2022-2024.
Nigel Clough
An option with bags of experience managing across the EFL.
The 59-year-old has been in management since 1998 where he was in charge at Burton Albion for more than a decade.
He then took over at Derby County for four years, following in the footsteps of his father, the legendary Brian Clough.
He then joined Sheffield United in 2013 and was there until May 2015 before he rejoined Burton for a second spell in December 2015.
His Burton side were promoted to the Championship having finished in 2nd position in League One in the 2015/16 campaign.
He has been at Mansfield Town since 2020 and took over with the club in danger of relegation.
However, he has managed to turn things around and got his team promoted to League One in 2023/24 and his side are currently in 8th position in the division.
Meanwhile, the potential of a new challenge at a club with better resources and more potential, he may be tempted to make a move.
