Published: Tuesday, 16th June, 2009 10:20am

Royals track Adam

by Anthony Smith

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READING are being linked with a £500,000 swoop for Charlie Adam from Rangers.

Rumours are growing that Royals boss Brendan Rodgers sees the 23-year-old left-sided player as an ideal replacement for want-away Stephen Hunt.

Adam impressed on loan at Blackpool last season and he caught Reading"s eye in a 2-2 draw against them at Bloomfield Road in April.

The Gers want at least £500,000 for the player who has made more than 60 first-team appearances for the Scottish giants.

Rodgers could easily afford that by selling a couple of his big-name stars like Hunt and Kevin Doyle.

Reports suggest Everton are ready to offer £10 million for the Republic of Ireland duo.

That sort of cash would give Rodgers plenty of room to manoeuvre in the transfer market as he rebuilds the squad.

If Doyle goes - with Spurs and Aston Villa also interested - Rodgers could then raid his old club Watford and sign Tommy Smith.

Smith, 29, is entering the last year of his contract and cash-strapped Hornets would find it hard to turn down a substantial bid.

Rodgers said: 'We will try and strengthen over the summer and there are bound to be changes.

'We are looking closely at a number of potential targets we would like to sign but I don"t expect things to happen until July when players and coaches come back from holiday.'

Royals have also been linked with Millwall"s highly-rated David Martin and they have not ruled out Dan Harding either.

Harding finished the season with Reading on loan from Ipswich and is now a free agent.

Royals director of football Nick Hammond confirmed the club could be heading for a busy summer: 'There will have to be dealings in the transfer market,' he said.

'It"s sad when players go, especially when they have played such a big part in bringing success to the club. But I want to give the manager flexibility to try and bring in new players.

'We feel the time is right to make the changes and give Brendan the opportunity to stamp his own mark on the squad.'

Meanwhile, Marcus Hahnemann could be set for a shock return to the Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The USA goalkeeper, who turned 37 on Monday, was one of four senior players released by Reading at the end of the season along with skipper Graeme Murty, Michael Duberry and Leroy Lita.

Southend want defender Alan Bennett who helped Brentford win the League Two title while on loan last season.

READING have been drawn against League Two outfit Burton Albion in the first round of the Carling Cup.

The tie will take place at the Madejski Stadium in the week commencing August 10.

GRAEME Murty"s testimonial match has been brought forward a day to Monday, July 20 at the Madejski Stadium (8pm).

It will feature a game between the current Reading side against the squad from 2005/06 which won the Championship title.

Tickets for the night of nostalgia go on sale today (Wednesday) at 10am costing £10 adults and £5 concessions.

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