Now, any chance of Walcott moving to Reading before January would rely on the termination of his current contract at Southampton. “I’d like to get a striker in, I’ve got one in mind but I’m not going to tell you yet – you’ll be quite surprised if I can get him in,” he said. The Royals, who also signed Shane Long earlier in the summer, have begun the Championship season strong and sit in 3rd after eight matches and 15 points to their name. So now it’s a case of who’s out there on a free.”Įarlier in the window, Ince had hinted towards pursuing a target in mind – though chose not to name-drop Walcott. “I spoke to him, we had a good conversation, but he had a year left at Southampton and we couldn’t make the figures work which is disappointing because the boy wanted to come. “We were close to getting a deal for Theo Walcott,” s aid 54-year-old Ince, speaking on Thursday. Meanwhile, the likes of Nathan Redmond leaves for Turkish side Besiktas on a permanent basis, even after the window in England had closed. Here is a video of him talking about his hopes after signing a new deal at Southampton in July 2021… However, beyond the summer transfer window’s deadline day, Walcott stays on the books at St Mary’s going into the final year of his contract.

The veteran forward was not even included in the rotated matchday squad for the Carabao Cup game against Cambridge United, which saw three academy youngsters given debuts. Walcott is yet to feature for manager Ralph Hasenhuttl this campaign, and last played in the 3-2 Saints win at Tottenham back in February 2022. Reading boss Paul Ince claimed the 33-year-old, who is currently out of favour at Premier League outfit Southampton, was keen on the move. A Championship club reveal that they came ‘close’ to signing Theo Walcott earlier this summer but finances couldn’t be agreed.

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