READING have made a double-deadline day swoop by signing Canada's Ethan Gage and USA starlet Erik Opsahl.

The pair have initially joined until the end of the season, with the option of a further 12 months.

But Royals did miss out on a third target when Dulwich Hamlet teenager Paul McCallum opted for West Ham.

However, Reading's director of football Nick Hammond believes the two new imports from across the Atlantic possess huge potential.

"These are two good young players with a fantastic mentality, and both are a very good fit for our club," he said. "This is a very good opportunity for us to have an ever closer look at them, with a view to them earning a longer-term contract."

Versatile Gage, 19, was Canada's Under 20 Player of the Season last year. He can play in midfield and defence, and he impressed Reading boss Brian McDermott on a recent trial in Berkshire.

Gage had been linked with Wolfsburg, but Royals nipped in when his contract expired with MLS outfit Vancouver Whitecaps.

Midfielder Opsahl, 18, has been training with DC United, Bordeaux and Chelsea USA amongst other clubs while studying for a football scholarship at St John's University in New York.

It is thought he will mostly feature for Eamonn Dolan's Under 18s for the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile, striker Nicholas Bignall has signed for Brentford until May 1, while Academy youngsters Jack Mills and Michael Hector have joined Dutch side Telstar and Irish club Dundalk until the end of the season.