READING’S attacking options have been dealt a blow following Nick Blackman’s switch to Championship rivals Derby County.
The 26-year-old, whose contract with Royals was due to expire in the summer, has signed a three-and-a-half year deal at the iPro stadium.
The fee paid by the promotion-chasing Rams is an undisclosed one, although it has been reported the East Midlands club could be paying up to as much as £3million for the player.
Boss Paul Clement won the race to his signature, beating another Championship side, Sheffield Wednesday, who were also understood to have made advances for the forward
Blackman, who joined Reading from Sheffield United back in January 2013, leaves Madejski Stadium as the side’s top scorer this term, having struck 13 times this term – 11 of which came in the league.
SIGNING: Blackman, @ReadingFC’s top scorer this season, has joined for an undisclosed fee: https://t.co/LRhqMwPrY5 pic.twitter.com/IGGmpa0WjC
— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) January 6, 2016
His last strike in the club’s colours came just last Saturday, where an stoppage-time goal secured Royals a 1-0 win over Bristol City.
And the departure of Blackman, who was a catalyst going forward for the side this season, having also assisted numerous other strikes, leaves a pretty big void in the final third.
Behind Blackman in the scoring charts is Orlando Sa, who has notched five times in the league in 2015/16 – but he last found the net during the 4-2 reverse at Fulham back in October.
Danny Williams has four goals to his name and Piazon has three, so losing Blackman at a crucial stage of the season, with Royals eight points off the play-offs, means McDermott will most likely be in the hunt for a new marksmen in the transfer window – but that is not likely to come cheap.
Blackman could line up against his former employers just next week, with second-placed Royals hosting Reading next Tuesday (7.45pm).
