No need to sell if Long leaves Reading FC - Hammond

Sportsdesk • Published 28 Jul 2011 09:30 9 Comments

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READING director of football Nick Hammond has told The Chronicle that if Shane Long does leave this summer then there will be no financial obligation to sell anyone else.

Royals have already seen last season's skipper Matt Mills join Leicester City for £5.5million and could now be on the verge of losing another prize asset, with Hammond confirming they have rejected offers for Long.

West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Liverpool are all reported to be interested in the Republic of Ireland international, but it is West Ham who made their move this week.

The Hammers reportedly had an £8million bid for Long rejected by Reading and then came back with a similar offer - structured differently - which was also turned down.

However, with only a year left on Long's current contract and a month to go until the end of the transfer window, Hammond admits the saga looks set to rumble on.

"We've had offers for Shane but we've turned them down.There hasn't been a decision to make yet but it could well intensify when the close of the transfer window approaches and we have to be mindful of that," he told The Chronicle. "For us he's priceless, but, at the end of the day, every player has a value and we are faced with a situation this summer."

With Mills having already left the Madejski to join Championship rivals Leicester, losing Long to Sam Allarydce's West Ham would be a huge blow for Brian McDermott ahead of the new season.

And, with Jimmy Kebe also in talks about a new deal amidst interest from elsewhere, Reading may be forced into a number of first-team changes.

However, while Hammond confirmed there has been interest in other players, he also insisted that any other sale in addition to Long would be made on Reading's terms.

"I think that if anyone else were to leave then it would be a decision that we make for the club, we won't be forced into selling anyone else and there will be no financial obligation to sell anyone else," he commented.

"There's always interest in our players, we have a reputation for finding good players and we have to accept that there will always be interest, it's part and parcel of it.

"We've got a great relationship with Shane and we want to do right by him and also right by the club, and, while we've had interest, it hasn't been at the level to tempt us."

Aside from monitoring the interest in Long, Hammond has also been busy this week bringing in South African centre-back Bongani Khumalo on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

The 24-year-old will compete for a starting spot with Sean Morrison, Alex Pearce and potentially Ibrahima Sonko - who is still training with the club - and Hammond is pleased with the way the squad is shaping up.

"Brian and myself spoke after Tuesday's game against Bristol Rovers and we're both happy because the squad looks strong in all positions," he said.

"We've had to be patient with the Bongani deal as he's been in South Africa and other clubs were interested but we're delighted to have him. If the transfer window were to shut now then that would be fine with us."

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 28 Jul 11

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

URZ1871
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Jul 28, 15:57
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Preparing us for when you sell him ...

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******
Jul 28, 16:07
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Royalist
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Jul 28, 16:11
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Squeeze the hammers for the full upfront fee and then get in david goodwillie to partner noel upfront and a central defender would be nice

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jamesthemonkeh
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Jul 28, 16:46
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The first paragraph seems to be missing the words "until January"

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steve
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Jul 28, 17:04
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I'm expecting Long to go for around £7m, meaning that the club will have received £12million in transfer fees this summer. So what you are saying then Mr Hammond is £12million is enough to fill this years black-hole!? so is the club running at a £12million pound deficit for the year? ie losing over £200k a week? last year we were lead to believe the shortfall was £4m for the year (hence the sale of sigurdsson), things are obviously alot worse this year despite the cup run and getting to the play-off final.....worrying times indeed

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bobby
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Jul 28, 18:06
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hardly good news though is it? We've sold our two best players, received about £12m but the good news is we don't need to sell any more 'til the january window anyway. Unless ofcourse we receive an offer we like the look of for any remaining player that is. God help us when we've got no one left of any value to sell next summer!

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spud
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Jul 28, 19:28
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What a complete crock of

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DarrenB
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Jul 28, 20:22
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flippin' eck i should hope we wouldn't be forced to sell anyone else after Long leaves!!!just exactly how big are the financial problems at the club???? if we need £12m to plug the shortfall....? these are very worrying times for Reading football club.

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West Ham Fan
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Jul 29, 08:53
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Football has all become a bit too financial really. Look at PSG now splashing the cash while most other clubs are struggling to stay afloat. Sky and the Premiership - I sh*t 'em.

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A frustrated fan
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Jul 30, 22:52
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I refuse to believe that selling Mills didn't cover our deficit. There's no way the club can have been more in debt than £5.5m. We CANNOT sell players to cover Madejski's difficulties in his other businesses.

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