Welsh international striker arriving from Reading
Huddersfield Town Manager Simon Grayson is set to bring Reading striker Simon Church to the Club on a one-month emergency loan today.
With strikers James Vaughan and Jermaine Beckford out through injury recently, Welsh international Church will arrive at the Club to add to Town’s attacking department alongside the likes of Lee Novak and Alan Lee.
23 year-old Church, whose loan deal will run until 8 December inclusive, will go straight into the squad for Saturday’s npower Championship game at Barnsley.
Grayson explained Church’s arrival to htafc.com:
“Simon is a player we have monitored for some time and he adds genuine top level quality to our striking department. We looked at bringing him to the Club during the summer, but at that stage Reading wouldn’t let him out.
“The current strikers we have at the Club have done a tremendous job so far, but we’ve suffered some injuries in that area recently and we felt the time was right to bring Simon in – especially as James Vaughan is suffering from a troublesome thigh strain.
“All being well he will train with the squad on Thursday and comes into my thinking for Saturday’s game at Barnsley.”
Church, who stands at 5’ 11” tall, started his career in the Wycombe Wanderers youth system before joining Reading as a 14 year-old.
He gained his first experience of senior football through loan spells at Crewe Alexandra and Yeovil Town during the 2007/08 season and then at Wycombe and Leyton Orient during the following campaign before making his full First Team debut for Reading in May 2009.
The former Wales Under-21 international became a regular for the Royals during the next two npower Championship seasons and has an impressive goals return of 24 in just 65 starts and 57 substitute appearances for the Club.
Simon has made five appearances this season; three starts and one substitute appearances for Wales during their World Cup qualifying campaign and a single substitute appearance at Club level during Reading’s recent 7-5 loss to Arsenal in the Capital One Cup.
Club | From | To | Apps (Sub) | Goals |
Leyton Orient (loan) | 17/02/2009 | 01/06/2009 | 12 (1) | 4 |
Wycombe Wanderers (loan) | 24/08/2008 | 21/12/2008 | 6 (3) | 0 |
Yeovil Town (loan) | 07/02/2008 | 06/04/2008 | 2 (4) | 0 |
Crewe Alexandra (loan) | 19/07/2007 | 20/01/2008 | 13 (1) | 1 |
Reading | 01/07/2007 | Current | 65 (57) | 24 |
Totals |
|
| 98 (66) | 29 |
