"Nice to see some stability" - Pundit reacts to Reading FC, Paul Taylor takeover update | OneFootball

Paul Taylor has been named as the prospective buyer of the Royals after years of off-field issues in Berkshire.

Carlton Palmer has urged patience regarding Reading FC's future, after it was revealed that Paul Taylor is the prospective buyer of the League One outfit.

The Royals have been entwined in colossal off-field issues over the last few years, with fines, point deductions and relegation hitting the club. However, there is renewed hope that a resolution can be found in the coming weeks and months.

Dai Yongge, the current owner, is an incredibly unpopular figure at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, and there have been several attempts to take the Berkshire side out of his hands.

Nevertheless, The Sun has reported that Taylor, a banker and financier, has been in talks over the last few months about purchasing Reading, and rescuing them out of an incredibly dire situation.

Palmer's verdict on Reading, Taylor developments

While it is incredibly exciting news, it's a position that the Royals have found themselves in before with former Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig.

That deal never came to fruition, and therefore there must be a calm approach taken by fans as the formalities are sorted. The Sun also reported that Taylor's wife is a Reading supporter, and the property surrounding the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood Park, the training ground, will appeal to him.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, former England and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Palmer has given his verdict on the update surrounding the proposed buyer.

"Paul Taylor has been named as the party in exclusive talks with Reading FC," he started. "We'll just have to wait and see. The property tycoon who once tried to buy Chelsea is planning a rescue mission for Reading Football Club.

"We'll have to wait and see. I mean, they have been in exclusive talks with several other parties that have not materialised to anything. Obviously, if Reading could get a buyer, they are in a good position in the play-offs, so if they could add to those players, there is a chance they could get promoted out of that league.

"Of course, that would go a long way to making sure their better players, like Charlie Savage, stay at the football club, and they can keep their best players and move on. That would be fantastic for the Reading supporters who've had to endure a lot of difficult times over recent years."

Palmer continued: "But I'm sure the supporters aren't getting excited at this moment in time. They’ll want to wait and see if this deal gets over the line. I mean, for the interested party, the one good thing for them is that there's a lot of real estate around there that he is probably looking to develop if he was to buy the football club. We know what Taylor is involved in, and so we'll have to wait and see.

"For the long-suffering supporters of Reading, it would be nice to see some stability in the football club where an owner comes in who has money to put in the football club, because they’re a fantastic club and they're in the play-offs. If there's money put in there, it's always a lottery in the play-offs, but they could be getting promoted out of League One this season."

Reading have been excellent on the pitch despite issues

It's been an incredibly tough few years for supporters of the Royals, and there will be a strong desire to see this part of their history come to a happy conclusion, but they will also have great pride in how their team has been performing.

Reading currently sit in a play-off position in League One, despite having a young squad and losing manager Ruben Selles to Hull City in December.

The likes of Charlie Savage and Harvey Knibbs have been crucial in ensuring that they continued to fight on the pitch, but they have both been targeted by Championship clubs due to their performances in blue-and-white.

The future is incredibly uncertain for Reading, but if the playing and managerial staff continue to make fans proud, then there will be more and more hope of a perfect ending to this saga.