Reading FC have bolstered their options at the back with the signing of Finley Burns on a season long loan from Premier League Manchester City.
The 6ft5 centre back departs Pep Guardiola’s side to join up with Noel Hunt’s Royals for 2025/26, fresh from a loan spell at Hull City last term.
CEO, Joe Jacobson, spoke of the signing: “Finley signing on loan is a real coup for the Football Club, we’re delighted to have secured his signature against stiff competition.
“We’d like to thank Manchester City for trusting us and our Coaching Team to develop and improve their player, and hopefully this will be the start of a fruitful relationship between the clubs.”
First Team Manager, Noel Hunt, commented: “We’re delighted to bring Finley to the club, he has all round quality and a couple of really good loans over the last couple of years.
“His attitude is second to none and comes from a great calibre of an Academy at City and has grown in stature but getting appearances in the Championship last season. In the games he played he carried himself very well, and we’re really positive.”
Born in Southwark in June 2003, Burns spent his formative years in Southend United’s Academy between the ages of nine and 14, before signing into the Manchester City youth setup in 2017 for a fee of £175,000.
Burns would enjoy game time for the Citizens in the Under 18 side, winning the FA Youth Cup in 2019/20 along with the Under 18 Premier League that same season and in 2020/21. He also became a mainstay in the Under 21 side that won Premier League 2 three seasons in a row, and would go on to make his First Team debut at the Etihad Stadium in his side’s 6-1 EFL Cup victory against Wycombe Wanderers in September 2021.
Later that season he joined second tier Swansea City for the second half of the campaign, making three Championship appearances for the South Wales outfit.
His first campaign in men’s football came when he joined Stevenage on a season long loan in 2023/24. He made 43 appearances across all competitions for the Boro in a campaign that saw them finish 9th in Sky Bet League One, and would also feature on both occasions against the Royals at both the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Broadhall Way.
Last term he spent the season on loan at Hull City in the Championship, making 11 appearances across all competitions.
