JOEY van den Berg is on the verge of a Reading FC exit.

Van den Berg, 32, faces tough competition in midfield from the likes of Liam Kelly, John Swift, Dave Edwards, Leandro Bacuna and David Meyler.

Several Dutch teams are weighing up a move for Van den Berg, who still has a year left on his contract at Madejski Stadium.

However, Van den Berg’s wages appear to be a potential snag for his suitors and Royals could instead opt to loan the midfielder out, for a fee.

The tough-tackling midfielder trained with Royals last week but was not included in their matchday squad for the 2-1 defeat against Eastleigh.

Speaking after the game at Silverlake Stadium, assistant manager Nigel Gibbs said: “He’s training.

“I haven’t heard anything from the club. He’s training well and just wasn’t selected today."

But when asked if the Dutchman featured in Paul Clement’s first-team plans, assistant manager Nigel Gibbs replied: “There is a very, very competitive midfield.

“There are a lot of players in that area. We have brought in David Meyler so it’s going to be very difficult to get that place in the team.”