Reading on the verge of signing West Brom player

David Button is set to join the Royals after being allowed to depart the Baggies

David Button is in talks with a move to League One outfit Reading from West Bromwich Albion.
The experienced goalkeeper is not in Carlos Corberan’s plans at The Hawthorns for the 2023-24 season and will be allowed to move on.
Reading need a new goalkeeper to compete with Dean Bouzanis and have identified Button as their man.

After some issues over the summer months since their relegation to League One, Reading’s squad for the 2023-24 season is now starting to take shape.

There has been plenty of discontent among the Royals fanbase directed at owner Dai Yongge’s running of the club, with their failure to stick to a business plan as agreed with the EFL meaning they were deducted six points from last season’s tally in the Championship – ultimately sending them into the third tier.

Since hit with transfer embargos due to late payments to HMRC, there has been clear turmoil at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, but they are embargo-free now and the dust appears to be settling.

Ruben Selles has been appointed as the club’s new head coach and new signings are starting to come through the door, as well as links to plenty of exciting players that could theoretically make the Royals a promotion-chasing club this coming season.

Cambridge United forward pair Harvey Knibbs and Sam Smith have arrived – the latter returning after coming through the academy at the club – and it looks as though a third new arrival is poised to be confirmed in the near future.

Reading set to sign experienced goalkeeper David Button

Reading on the verge of signing West Brom goalkeeper David Button

According to Alan Nixon on Patreon, Reading are set to now land a new goalkeeper to add to Dean Bouzanis and Jokull Andresson as the experienced David Button has been given permission to depart West Bromwich Albion in order to seek first-team football.

And he is set to link up with Selles and become the Royals’ first-choice goalkeeper after losing his position in the pecking order to both Alex Palmer and Josh Griffiths at The Hawthorns.

Who is David Button?

David Button: 'I want to be part of a successful team' | West Bromwich Albion

34-year-old Button has 363 professional games under his belt, with his most productive years coming at Brentford.

Button came through the Tottenham Hotspur academy after joining from Stevenage but only ever made one appearance for Spurs in his time there, which came in a League Cup clash with Doncaster Rovers in August 2009.

Having joined a total of 11 different clubs on loan during his time at Tottenham, Button finally departed on a permanent basis in 2012 for a fee of £500,000 to Charlton Athletic, but spent just one year with the Addicks and played just six matches before joining Brentford.

It was at the Bees where Button had plenty of success as their starting goalkeeper for three years but he moved on to their West London rivals Fulham – he was first choice for much of the 2016-17 season but the following year he had to share game-time and moved on to Brighton in 2018.

A backup at the Seagulls for two years, Button moved on to West Brom in 2020 for another undisclosed fee and was understudy to Sam Johnstone for the best part of two years.

Button was handed the chance though by Steve Bruce to be the Baggies number one at the start of the 2022-23 season, but towards the end of Bruce’s time in charge he was dropped in favour of Alex Palmer and only went on to play five more times under Carlos Corberan.