Paul Ince reveals Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite's stance on Reading FC futures | OneFootball

Reading manager Paul Ince has revealed that Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite are both keen to stay at the club beyond the summer.

Joao and Meite's contracts with the Royals are set to expire following the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign.

If fresh terms cannot be agreed with these two players, they will both become free-agents later this year.

Reading will need Joao and Meite to step up to the mark in the coming weeks after being dragged into a battle for survival in the Championship following their recent points deduction.

Earlier this week, the Royals were docked six points for breaching the terms of a business plan that was imposed on them by the EFL.

As a result of this deduction, Reading are now only one point above the relegation zone in the Championship.

The Royals will be determined to extend this gap this afternoon by securing a victory in their meeting with Birmingham City.

What has Paul Ince said about Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite's stance on their futures at Reading?

Ahead of Reading's meeting with Blues, Ince has insisted that Joao and Meite are both keen to stay at the club.

Speaking to the Reading Chronicle, Ince said: "The ones who are out of contract, say Yak and Lucas, they want to stay here and be here.

"When you get to this situation, you want to earn a new contract or go away and your agents on the phone.

"I've spoken to Yak and I’ve spoken to Lucas, they want to fight and stay at this club, and earn a contract.

"There’s only one way to do that, it’s being on the field and showing what you can do.

"Even if they didn’t want to be here, I'd still play them because they’re very good players and I need them."

Should Reading hand Joao and Meite new contracts later this year?

If Reading manage to avoid relegation to League One and Joao and Meite both go on to produce eye-catching performances in the coming weeks, the Championship outfit ought to consider offering this duo fresh terms.

Both players clearly know exactly what it takes to compete at this level.

Joao has managed to find the back of the net on 70 occasions49 goals in 154 Championship games.