Reading defender Omar Richards' future remains up in the air heading into the second full week of the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old has caught the eye with a number of strong performances for the Royals, as they look to challenge for promotion into the Premier League.

Richards has made 21 appearances in total for the Berkshire-based side, who are currently sat fifth in the Championship table after their opening 23 matches of this year's campaign.

But with his contract set to expire in the summer, it has seen other teams register their interest in signing the left-back before the January transfer window reaches a conclusion.

One of the teams who are reportedly interested in signing Richards is Bayern Munich, with the German giants looking to add depth to their defensive options.

We take a look at the latest on this transfer rumour below.

What do we know so far?

Richards is out-of-contract at the end of the 2020/21 season, which has seen a number of clubs register their interest in landing his signature.

The Telegraph originally revealed that Bayern Munich had made an approach to sign the defender, who would cost them nothing on a pre-contract deal this month.

Reading manager Veljko Paunovic had previously revealed that the club are trying to tie the left-back down to a new deal, although it remains to be seen as to whether they'll be successful in that over the coming weeks.

For now though, Richards will be focused on the task at hand with Reading, starting with a positive performance in their next match, which comes against Brentford at the weekend.

Is it likely to happen this month?

I wouldn't be surprised if this rumour was in fact true.

Richards has really impressed me with Reading this season, and he's established himself as one of the first names on Veljko Paunovic's team-sheet at this moment in time.

Reading have made a frustrating mistake in not offering him a new contract sooner, as he's now open to talking to other clubs.

Bayern Munich are one of the biggest clubs in the world, and you couldn't blame Richards if he was to pursue a move to the German giants.

If he was to sign for Bayern Munich, then I really wouldn't be surprised if they were to loan him back to Reading for the remainder of this year's campaign, which would be some consolation, as they look to challenge for promotion back into the Premier League this season.