Reading are set for an interesting summer ahead, with Veljko Paunovic's side preparing for another season in the Championship. 

The Royals had been the team to beat in the early stages of this year's campaign, but a poor run of results in the second-half of the season has ultimately seen them miss out on a play-off position.

Paunovic's side are currently sat seventh in the second-tier standings, but find themselves eight points adrift of sixth-placed Barnsley heading into their final two matches of this year's campaign.

Reading's financial position has been well-documented across the media, and that could result in the club moving on some players ahead of the 2021/22 season.

Omar Richards seems to be heading for the exit door already, whilst Michael Olise has been attracting interest from the Premier League in the past.

We take a look at how Reading's starting XI could look when they kick-off their 2021/22 league campaign next season in the Championship.

Find out which player starts us off between the posts, on the next page....

Rafael is likely to be Reading's first-choice goalkeeper next season, with the Brazilian being a regular in the starting XI in the 2020/21 season.

The shot-stopper has made 44 appearances in all competitions this term, and will be hoping that he can retain his place in the starting XI moving forwards, despite some costly errors for the Berkshire-based side this term.

Luke Southwood and Sam Walker are both out-of-contract in the summer, and it would come as a real surprise if Rafael was to be heading for the exit door at the Madejski Stadium.

Rafael has shown glimpses of his quality between the posts for the Berkshire-based side, and he'll be keen to get back to his best in next year's league campaign, as they target a top-six finish under Veljko Paunovic's management.

Andy Yiadom has endured a frustrating last few couple of seasons with Reading, with the right-back spending a considerable amount of time in the treatment room.

The 29-year-old has made 19 appearances in all competitions this season, and has kept FC Porto loanee Tomas Esteves out of the starting XI since returning from an injury lay-off.

Yiadom has been a regular for Reading when available for selection, and his experience is likely to be relied upon next season, with it being likely that the Royals will look to move on some players to make space on the club's wage bill.

With a lack of options elsewhere at right-back, Yiadom is likely to be one of those that sticks around with the senior side moving forwards into the 2021/22 campaign.

Tom Holmes is next up, with the Reading defender catching the eye with a number of impressive performances in the heart of the Reading defence this term.

The 21-year-old is a Reading supporter himself, and will be eager to play his part for the club next season, especially after they narrowly missed out on a top-six finish after a poor run of form in the second-half of this year's campaign.

It seems likely that he'll be battling it out with Tom McIntyre for a place in the starting XI for Reading next season, with McIntyre's contract being set to expire in the summer.

Competition for places is the ideal dilemma to have for any manager, and Paunovic will be keen to see Holmes go from strength to strength next season.

Michael Morrison could partner Holmes in defence, with the experienced central defender playing an important role for the Royals this term in the Championship.

Morrison made 36 appearances in all competitions for the Royals this term, but was in and out of the starting XI towards the final few months of the season due to injury.

That proved to be one of the reasons as to why the Royals missed out on a top-six finish, with Morrison proving to leave a sizeable void in the team.

The former Birmingham City man is out-of-contract at the end of this year's campaign, and the club might look at keeping him, and potentially moving Liam Moore on in the summer to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

Moore has previously attracted interest from Brighton and Hove Albion earlier in his time with Reading.

Ethan Bristow could be the next youngster that is thrown into the first-team picture by Veljko Paunovic heading into the 2021/22 campaign.

The young left-back featured for Reading's senior side in their FA Cup defeat to Luton Town back in January, and has impressed for the Under-23s side since.

With Omar Richards set to be heading for a move to German giants Bayern Munich, it wouldn't come as a surprise to see Paunovic use the club's academy players more often in next year's campaign.

Bristow hasn't got a considerable amount of experience in senior football, but that was the case with Omar Richards as well, and the Madejski Stadium faithful will be hoping that Bristow can have a similar impact to that of what Richards did.

Andy Rinomhota is another player that has featured heavily for Reading in the 2020/21 season, which has ultimately ended in disappointment after the club failed to force themselves back into the top-six this term.

The midfielder has made 42 appearances in all competitions for Veljko Paunovic's side this season, which takes his total number of appearances for the club's senior side to 117.

Rinomhota's impressive work off-the-ball often goes unnoticed, and he's likely to be one of the first names on Veljko Paunovic's side when available for selection.

At the age of 24, he's still got plenty of room to improve and learn from an up and down 2020/21 campaign with the Royals.

Josh Laurent caught the eye with a number of impressive performances for Reading's first-team in his first season with the Berkshire-based side.

The midfielder has made 44 appearances in total for Reading so far, and has formed a hugely impressive partnership with Andy Rinomhota in the centre of midfield.

Laurent has one more year to run on his contract, and given that he signed for free after a spell with League One side Shrewsbury Town, it looks as though it's a smart bit of business by the Royals.

Another impressive season for Laurent is likely to result in a new contract offer from Reading, and he'll be a key player for the Royals next season.

Ovie Ejaria is going from strength to strength with Reading, after signing permanently from Liverpool after a successful loan spell at the Madejski Stadium.

The midfielder is often seen causing opposition defence a number of problems with his skill and trickery on the ball. Ejaria has made 37 appearances in all competitions this term, and will be hoping he can remain a regular in the team next season.

The 23-year-old's work-rate off the ball is admirable as well, and his defensive work often goes unnoticed by plenty of supporters.

He's another player that the Madejski Stadium faithful will be hoping can stick around moving forward into next year's campaign.

Mo Besic could be one of the few signings that Reading look to bring in heading into the summer transfer window.

It has previously been reported by The Telegraph that the Royals are looking at signing the midfielder on a free transfer when his contract with Everton reaches a conclusion in the summer.

Besic has found regular game time heard to come by with the Premier League side, and is likely to be heading for the exit door at Goodison Park.

It would come as a real surprise if Reading were to keep hold of Michael Olise heading into next season, with the 19-year-old previously attracting interest from the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Leeds United.

If the club are to move him and John Swift on to clear some of the wage bill, then Besic could potentially arrive at the Madejski Stadium for the 2021/22 season, which could see a slight change in shape for Paunovic's side, with Besic being more defence-minded.

Yakou Meite is next up, with the Ivorian likely to be heavily relied upon next season, if he can remain fit for the whole of the 2021/22 season.

The winger has this year's campaign disrupted with injury problems, which has seen him make 23 appearances in all competitions this term.

But he's made a positive impact when he's been involved in the Reading first-team, as Meite has scored 11 goals and been on hand to provide one assist this season.

The Royals will be hoping that there isn't any interest from other clubs for Meite during the summer transfer window, as he's established himself as a key member of the Reading team.

Lucas Joao is likely to be Reading's first-choice striker once again next season, providing that the club can keep hold of him in the summer transfer window.

The forward has made 38 appearances in all competitions this term for the Royals, and has scored 22 goals in the 2020/21 season for the Berkshire-based side.

That doesn't tell the bigger picture though, with Joao struggling for confidence in front of goal in the second-half of this year's campaign, with the forward missing some guilt-edge chances in their bid for a top-six finish.

If he can get back to his best in the near future though, then you would imagine that Reading will be in with a chance of challenging for promotion once again next season.