In-form Reading striker Lucas Joao has admitted that he is happy to be returning to Hillsborough tomorrow night as his current employers take on his former club Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship.
Joao has been absolutely unplayable for the Royals thus far, notching an impressive 12 goals in all competitions for Veljko Paunović's side, which in turn has seen the Berkshire club into the early running for a play-off spot come the end of the campaign.
Of course Joao originally joined the club from Wednesday back in August 2019 after racking up 29 goals in over 120 games for the Owls over a three year period.
Speaking to Reading's official website ahead of his trip back to his old stomping ground, Joao had this to say:
“It will be my first time back at Hillsborough since I came to Reading.
“It will be special to be back there, to go back to this stadium where I was happy.
“It will be good to be back there and see some old teammates – some friends that I left there, some good people. It will be great to see them… but it’s another game to go and try to get the three points for Reading!
“It is difficult to go to Hillsborough because they have good players through their squad… but we have some confidence – we want to keep it and go as far as we can.”
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Since arriving at the Madejski Stadium last season, Joao has registered 18 goals in just over 30 games in what has been a successful stint with the club for the striker so far.
The Verdict
It wouldn't shock me if Joao came back to bite Wednesday tomorrow night, as he really is in the best form of his career at the moment.
He's taken his game to the next level under Paunovic and we're starting to see Reading get a return on what was a solid investment for the striker last season.
One would be foolish to write him off for ending the season as the division's top scorer with the chances being created for him - such as Yakou Meite's pinpoint square ball recently against Bristol City - providing the 27-year-old with the perfect platform to achieve just that.
I for one cannot wait to see what Joao and this exciting Reading team achieve throughout the rest of the campaign.