Reading manager Jose Gomes is keen for the club to bring in some new players ahead of the start of the Championship season next month amid a quiet summer transfer window so far.
The Royals have only brought in one addition to their squad so far with the loan signing of 19-year-old Everton goalkeeper, Joao Virginia.
The club sold two senior players this week as midfielder Liam Kelly left to re-join former Royals boss Jaap Stam at Feyenoord, while Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was sold to Championship side Millwall.
The Portuguese manager showed his concern around the clubs lack of transfer activity this summer with the Reading’s Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday just a few weeks away.
“We need to build our squad because the kids have done very, very well but if you want to fight in the Championship with ambition then we definitely must improve the level of our squad,” said Gomes.
“It was very important for us because this game (Sevilla) showed us that we definitely need new players.
“I’m really enjoying helping the young players improve and I’m still very happy to try and increase the level of quality.
“But if we want to achieve a higher target we need to make something in the next few days because in 20 days we start the league.
“I know everybody is giving their maximum to bring in the new players so I really expect that I can play some of the four games we have next week with new players otherwise it will be difficult to fight for something that everybody wants.”
Several senior players were omitted from the pre-season trip to Spain, including Garath McCleary and Chris Gunter as the club continues to seek ways to offload players to free the wage bill and raise funds for new signings.
Reading’s pre-season trip to Spain has seen them win three of their four matches so far, including a 10-0 thrashing of Gibraltar and a tough test against Spanish giants Sevilla which saw the Royals edged out 2-1.
“I’m full of motivation since my first day and I’m really enjoying the club and everybody but we need more players,” added Gomes.
“The kids are here and they will help and today (Saturday) was a very important and tough challenge for them. That’s why we play pre-season so we can recognise what kind of drills we must create for the during the week and it was a very positive test.
“Against these kind of teams (Sevilla) we showed the problems that we can have against strong opposition.
Reading have two more fixtures to play before their Spain trip is concluded as they face another double header. They will play League One outfit Lincoln City (10am kick off) before competing against La Liga side Granada CD (7.30 kick off) on Saturday, July 20.
