THE signing of Tiago Ilori from Liverpool for a club-record fee sends out a strong message to the rest of the Championship.

That is the view of Reading FC centre-back Liam Moore following the imminent capture of 23-year-old Ilori for around £3 million.

Royals were tying up the loose ends of Ilori’s contract late last night, but Moore expects the London-born Portugal youth international to be a big hit in the Championship.

Moore told the Chronicle: “It’s good to see us strengthening at this stage of the season. We have a relatively small squad and we’re in a good position in the league.

“We need to try and kick on from that, so if there is more competition for places and more depth to the squad, that can only be good in terms of helping us get to where we want to be.”

It is thought Ilori’s transfer has dragged on due to the amount of cash Reading will pay up front and later in instalments.

Either way, Ilori’s signing is certain to break the club’s previous transfer record of £2.5 million for Nantes flop, Emerse Fae, in 2007.

Ilori has made only three first team appearances for the Reds following a £4 million move from Sporting CP in 2013 and he has already been farmed out on loan three times to Granada, Bordeaux and Aston Villa.

But Moore believes he will fit in perfectly at Madejski Stadium and provide more competition in defence, with Paul McShane set to miss tonight’s home clash against QPR after a wrist operation (8pm ko).

“Tiago has had a couple of loan moves abroad and he is obviously a good player,” declared Moore.

“I played against him in the Under 21 Premier League a few years ago when I was at Leicester. He’s an excellent defender and it’s definitely something that is good for the team.

“It adds competition for places and keeps others on the toes. You’ve got to be a good player when you have been bought by Liverpool.

“He’s been picked out by Reading who will have done their research, as they do with all new players.

“I’m sure he’ll slot straight into things here and especially the way we play.”

He added: “We are definitely moving forward, we’re buying players and spending a bit of money.

“It show we’re not just trying to hang in there where we are, we’re trying to kick on and progress again from where we are in the league.”

Reading were knocked out of the FA Cup after a comprehensive 4-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend.

But Jaap Stam’s Royals have won nine of their last 11 Championship matches and sit third in the table.

“It’s been good, but the best things about us is that we won’t settle for that,” stressed Moore. “There are definitely areas where we could have improved on during that run.

“We’ve had to come back from bad situations with late winners. It’s nice to do that but we know we can be better.”