Puscas, who previously played for the Royals, entered as a substitute in Romania’s 3-0 victory over Ukraine on Monday.
The forward, however, was not an ordinary acquisition to the Berkshire outfit. He was their record signing in 2019, having joined from Inter Milan at a reported £8 million.
He appeared like he’d be worth every cent on his Royals debut, scoring twice against Cardiff City and making a strong first impression at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
The Romanian also scored a five-minute hat-trick away at Wigan Athletic during his debut season with the Berkshire club, indicating that he did not have the worst first season at the club, despite occasional criticism.
However, he struggled for much of the remainder of his time with the Royals, and was loaned out to Pisa and Genoa before joining the latter permanently. After struggling at the SCL Stadium, he will be eager to make a lasting impression on both the domestic and international stages in the coming years.
Ruben Selles has a striker dilemma at Reading FC. Ruben Selles, the current Royals manager, would have hoped to see a takeover at the SCL Stadium by now.
However, it does not appear like a sale is forthcoming at this time, which is likely to imply that no signings will take place, which is a concern for Selles.
There are several positions that need to be strengthened during the summer transfer window, including the striker position.
They have Sam Smith, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, and Jayden Wareham as striker alternatives, but Ehibhatiomhan was more productive on the wing later in the season, and Wareham lacks senior experience.
Wareham is certainly a promising youngster, but he may need more time in the academy before making the full-time jump to the senior squad, so another striker or two will most likely be necessary before the end of August.
With their present striker situation, the Royals could have benefited from having Puscas available.
Reading FC will not regret George Puscas’ departure.
Puscas may have been a useful asset for the Royals in League One.
However, there are various reasons why the club will not regret permanently releasing him.
For starters, he was most likely earning a big salary after coming for a club record sum, thus permanently unloading his income was the best option.
And in the process of selling him, they were able to produce an estimated €3 million for his signature, which is a fairly reasonable sum given how destitute Puscas was at points during his time in Berkshire.
On the pitch, there was no assurance that the Romanian would be successful.
Puscas failed to play up front on his own, and with Selles faring better with a 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 system than a 4-2-2-2, he may have continued to underperform.
It’s easy to assume that many supporters had lost patience with the striker by the time he went permanently, putting a lot of pressure on him to perform well.
That would not have improved his performance, and with his contract in Berkshire expiring this summer, Selles’ team would have risked losing their record signing for free if they had kept him.
Now the Royals need must look to the future and get a takeover transaction through as soon as possible so they can acquire a striker who can challenge for Smith’s starting job.
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