Championship side Reading have secured the services of centre-back Terell Thomas until the end of the season, it was confirmed by the club yesterday.

The 26-year-old had been a free agent since the end of January after terminating his contract at League One strugglers Crewe Alexandra, failing to make an impact there but earning himself a trial with the Royals.

Playing multiple times for the club's Under-23s, he was deemed good enough and sufficiently fit to be a first-teamer, coming in to provide depth to a defence that has struggled for form and with injuries throughout the 2021/22 campaign.

 

 

In fact, they currently hold the second-worst defensive record in the second-tier so far this season, a damning indictment of their performances and their supporters will be hoping the 26-year-old can come in and shore things up.

This signing will have brought mixed emotions in the Berkshire side's fanbase with depth in this position much-needed but some perhaps sceptical of his lack of experience at this level.

Regardless of their thoughts though, this addition has now been confirmed and with this, we have selected two knock-on effects that could happen at the Select Car Leasing Stadium as a result of the defender's arrival.

McIntyre left out in the cold

Defender Tom McIntyre was recalled to the starting lineup after Baba Rahman’s injury last month, being asked to fill in for the Ghanaian despite left-back not being his natural position.

And at times, the fact it isn’t his most comfortable position has been noticeable, sometimes being beaten for pace like he was within 20 seconds against Nottingham Forest as they were able to force their way in front early on.

Rahman is due to return at some point after the international break and with Thomas joining the likes of Scott Dann, Tom Holmes and Michael Morrison in defence, the 23-year-old may find himself out of the matchday squad altogether in just a matter of weeks.

To go from a regular start to almost being surplus to requirements would be a shock to the system for the defender, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him drop out if players remain fit and in form.

A lack of available full-backs may end up earning him a spot on the bench instead, though there are quite a few attacking options for Paul Ince to choose from now and that could be detrimental to McIntyre’s chances.

This just reinforces how important it is for the former Scotland youth international to keep performing well in training - and the fact he enjoyed some bright moments against Blackburn Rovers last week and helped his side to keep a clean sheet may have helped his cause.

A formation change?

Alternatively, Ince could opt to utilise a back-three system with this extra option coming in.

Both Morrison and Holmes have been regular starters under Ince but someone like Dann with his experience will be eager and perhaps expecting to play too.

And with McIntyre and Thomas also available as centre-back options when Rahman returns, at least one of those players faces having to remain outside of the first-team squad on matchdays unless a switch to three centre-backs is put into place.

With the Berkshire club struggling defensively, Ince may want to try a back three in a bid to change their fortunes if they continue to be leaky after the international break, especially with survival on the line.

In the meantime though, and especially after the clean sheet last weekend, it doesn’t look as though the current formation will be changing anytime soon with the likes of Josh Laurent and Andy Rinomhota able to protect the backline when they’re in top form.

An injury to the latter could affect the interim manager’s thinking though, so a system alteration cannot be ruled out.