With the 2022/23 Championship campaign fast approaching, there are still plenty of unanswered questions at Reading FC, including who will be appointed as the new club captain.
The Royals started last season with Liam Moore as captain under manager Veljko Paunovic.
Things ended badly for Moore and in January he was stripped of the captaincy after he revealed that he wanted to leave the club.
Moore ended up leaving on a loan swap deal for the remainder of the season with Tom Ince at Stoke City.
Despite returning to the club this summer, Moore is facing a long term injury which means he is likely to remain at the Royals.
Michael Morrison took over as club captain for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign under Paul Ince as the Royals narrowly escaped relegation.
However, Morrison’s contract is due to expire at the end of this month and it appears that it will not be extended next season.
Here are some candidates for the Reading captaincy next season:
Andy Yiadom
Probably the strongest candidate to be the new club captain after he extended his Royals contract earlier this month with a new three-year deal.
Yiadom joined the Royals on a free transfer from Barnsley in 2018 and has become a reliable member of the squad ever since.
He played 37 Championship games last campaign and in total has made 128 league appearances for the Berkshire club.
An experienced head at the age of 30 and with international experience having represented Ghana 24 times, who he helped qualify for the 2022 World Cup, Yiadom is likely to be a very strong option for captaincy.
Tom McIntyre
McIntyre further endeared himself to the Royals faithful last season with two absolutely vital stoppage time goals in the fight against relegation.
The first of which saw Reading win three valuable points away at Sheffield United and just a few days later he scored a dramatic equaliser in an incredible comeback against Swansea City.
The 23-year-old has become a Royals fan favourite for his heart and desire on the pitch having grown up at the club, where he has been in the youth ranks since 2008.
McIntyre now has 57 league games to his name and is beginning to become an important player at the back and would be a popular choice for club captain given his affinity with the club and the community.
Scott Dann
The most experienced member among the entire squad having played at Premier League level for much of his career.
The 35-year-old joined Reading last summer and his contract was extended for another season midway through last season.
Dann made 18 Championship appearances last campaign and scored twice, and could be a wise choice for captain given his vast experience at the top level.
The Royals defence is in drastic need of improvement having conceded 87 league goals in the 2021/22 season and having an accomplished defender available for a larger part of the season is likely to contribute positively.
Yakou Meite
The Ivorian is now the longest serving member of the first-team playing squad after John Swift departed this summer.
Meite has popped up with numerous important goals during his time at Reading since joining from Paris Saint Germain in 2016.
He has been a consistent scorer having scored 12 goals in 2018/19, 13 in 2019/20 and 12 in 2020/21.
Having suffered an ACL injury, Meite was on the sidelines for the majority of last season but will be hoping for an injury free campaign this time around where he will play a huge role in the Royals frontline.
The 26-year-old knows what it takes to play for the club having served them five seasons and could be an outside choice for captaincy.
