Reading manager Paul Ince has revealed Wolverhampton Wanderers were genuinely interested in taking former England international Andy Carroll to Molineux before he ended up at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, speaking to RDG.TODAY.

The 33-year-old found himself without a club this summer following his departure from West Bromwich Albion, with the Baggies' boss Steve Bruce opting against handing the experienced forward a new contract.

It previously looked as though he would be heading to Club Brugge but failed a medical and with that, it was unclear where he would move to next.

Iranian side Tractor SC offered him the chance to ply his trade in Asia according to the Daily Mail - but he turned that opportunity down and had a chance of returning to the English top flight with Wolves.

That's according to The Telegraph, who also reported their interest in former ex-Chelsea forward Diego Costa. Eventually, Costa officially linked up with Bruno Lage's men and that seemingly ruled out a move back to the Midlands for Carroll.

Wolves' interest was genuine according to their former player Ince who managed to tie the 33-year-old down to a short-term contract at the SCL Stadium earlier this week.

Speaking on this subject, the 54-year-old said: "There was a situation where he might have gone to Wolves but that didn’t materialise because Diego Costa got his visa.

"I’ve been onto him for the last five or six weeks and asking his agent if there was any chance."

The Verdict:

For the Royals' supporters, this will make the signing of Carroll even more satisfying because they could have easily been beaten to his signature by Lage's side, with their offer of Premier League football likely to have been very tempting for the former England international.

As well as this, he has already plied his trade in the Midlands and he would have been offered a much bigger salary at Molineux, so it would've been hard to see Ince's side winning the race if Wolves had failed in their quest to land Costa and had approached Carroll instead.

The 33-year-old has a decent chance of getting regular game minutes under his belt and won't have a shortage of competition in the forward department when all of Reading's attacking options are fit, which could help him to maximise his performance levels.

Already accustomed to life at the SCL Stadium from his previous spell at the club, it shouldn't take him too long to settle in and that should enable him to hit the ground running after the international break.

Because of this, a move back to Berkshire may not be the worst career move for Carroll who will just be keen to play as much football as possible.