With a month to go until the January transfer window officially opens, Reading manager Velijko Paunovic has explained how he and the club will look to approach the market.

Place under a transfer embargo in the summer due to breaching the EFL's profit and sustainability rules, Reading have since accepted a six-point deduction. Meanwhile, the club was handed an additional suspended six-point deduction, set to come into effect at the end of the 2022/23 season, should they fail to follow an agreed-upon business plan.

While the details of the business plan are to date unclear, it is certain to strictly limit the transfer business Reading can do with the club required to reduce the wage bill over the coming months.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's clash with Hull City, Paunovic made it clear that the club's priority is to extend the short-term contracts offered to key players such as Andy Carroll and Scott Dann while also tieing down their loanees.

"I think there are priorities," the Serbian said. "Players like Scott Dann, like Andy Carroll, we have to secure. And definitely, we also have to see with other players, other additions, loanees, because right now we’re only allowed loans for six months.

Reading Chronicle: Andy Carroll's contract situation is high on the list of Reading's priorities. Image by: JasonPIX.Andy Carroll's contract situation is high on the list of Reading's priorities. Image by: JasonPIX.

"We actually had a visit from Chelsea, Paolo Ferreira came here, we had discussions about that two days ago. They were very happy to see their players playing and performing very well. They are also happy with the style we play, and they were very happy with what they saw of how we worked this week, and the facilities we have. Same thing with Watford with Tom Dele-Bashiru - four goals, this is his best season, and it’s probably because we’re doing something good here. So I think all the players, all the additions that came here, are performing well and now it’s our duty to secure them. I think we are projecting a good image, we raise the values of the players coming here, so I hope that’s enough for the players to extend."

While Paunovic maintains that the club's focus over the coming months is to secure the squad they already have, he isn't ruling out new additions should the right opportunity present itself.

"You never know what the January transfer window is going to bring. We are not the market movers, that’s not our role in the market. But there are market movers who can trigger movement across all spheres and levels of the football pyramid. So we’ll see if something will touch us for good, or something we’ll have to replace. We’ll be active and we’ll also be proactive in terms of if something happens we can react quickly."