JAAP Stam has revealed he could add more new faces to his Reading FC squad this month despite the uncertainty of the Chinese takeover.

Stam made his first signing of 2017 by landing Tiago Ilori from Liverpool for a club-record fee yesterday.

That came only hours after leading scorer Garath McCleary penned a new long-term deal.

And Stam says he is not finished there, with a new striker believed to be top of his wish-list before the January transfer window closes, regardless of whether siblings Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li have completed their takeover from the current Thai owners.

Stam explained: “We have spoken to the owners who have given us an update about what they want to do with the club.

“We're still waiting to see if it [the takeover] is going to happen or not. There is no certainty that it will be done.

“So we're waiting to see if it will happen and, if the new owners come, what they want to do.”

He added: “It [the takeover] is still there but, as I told the players this week, we need to focus and concentrate on the football side of it.

“We can't have an influence what's going to happen upstairs. We need to keep doing what we've been doing up to now.

“We'll concentrate on football, do our jobs and stick together as a team. Hopefully we can keep picking up results and hopefully during this season and perhaps during this month we will hear from the people upstairs about what's going to happen.”

Reading's latest financial figures released this week show the club's debt has risen to £73m.

Nevertheless, the current Thai owners have backed Stam in the transfer market and Royals boss revealed there is more cash to spend.

“There is some money, I’m not saying there isn’t any,” added Stam.

“But because we extended Garath’s contract and Tiago came in, it doesn’t mean we can buy players for four, five or six million. That kind of money isn’t in the club.

“With our budget it’s quite difficult to get experienced players with 400 or 500 games already to come here.

“We need to be creative. We may need to look in the Championship, though getting players there who have done the job at other clubs is very hard, especially in January as everyone wants to keep their best players.

“So we may have to look abroad at players who are cheaper than those over here. We’re still looking at our options, but we don’t have millions to spend.”

He continued: “We are still looking for players in certain positions. It would be good to get them in on permanent deals not loan deals. It’s up to Brian Tevreden to see what he can do.

“We’ve still got some time. We don’t want to wait too long because players get more and more expensive.

“We’re waiting, but there’s also a possibility nobody might come in.”

Reading have been linked with a host of other players including Brentford striker Scott Hogan, though rumours of a £9m bid proved to be false.

Peterborough United midfielder Chris Forrester has also emerged as a target for Stam in the January transfer window along with Crystal Palace's out-of-favour Jordon Mutch.

As the Chronicle revealed last month, Aldershot Town whizzkid Idris Kanu is on Reading's radar and Stam has sent scouts to watch the 17-year-old midfielder on a number of occasions.

But Royals face stiff competition from the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, who have also been chasing the former West Ham Academy starlet.

Reading hope to bounce back from last week's 1-0 home defeat to QPR when they travel to Derby County this Saturday (3pm ko).