Revelation emerges on Paul Ince involvement in Tom Ince’s loan move to Reading FC

BBC South journalist Lewis Coombes

The Stoke City loanee arrived in Berkshire on deadline day in a loan swap deal that saw previous captain Liam Moore join the Potters for the remainder of the season, a move that was seen as a strange one by the Royals who were in desperate need of addressing other areas during the winter.

This included their central defence with the club experiencing an injury crisis in this position at the time, their full-back area with a lack of competition for the likes of Baba Rahman and Andy Yiadom and the forward department with both Andy Carroll and George Puscas leaving the club at the start of the calendar year.

And this is a temporary move that was made to look more strange when another winger in Brandon Barker signed on the dotted line last month to stay with the Royals for the remainder of the campaign.

The younger Ince has been a useful player in Berkshire since his arrival, scoring a crucial equaliser against AFC Bournemouth earlier this month, with ex-England international and father Paul also playing a big part in that draw at the Vitality Stadium after arriving in the middle stages of last month.

Some supporters suspect that move for Ince Jr ended up playing a part in Ince Sr’s appointment the following month – and the latter has now revealed he was involved in the negotiations that saw the former join the second-tier outfit.

The 54-year-old said: “With Thomas (Ince) coming to the club, I was part of arranging that (deal) with the owner.

“And then obviously I got a phone call on the Friday night saying that the manager was going to leave. (They said) Would I want to come in and help? So I said yeah, why not?

“I’m not doing anything else apart from cleaning my wedges!”

The Verdict:

It’s