Reading have had their fair share of signings over the years that haven't lived up to the expectations originally set for them at the Madejski Stadium. 

Whilst some have flourished with Reading before going on to bigger and better things since leaving the club.

The Berkshire-based side are now a well-established team in the Championship, and are in contention to win promotion into the Premier League this term.

The Royals are currently sat sixth in the second-tier standings, and will be hoping they can put together a positive run of results in the Championship after the international break.

We take a look through the top-ten most expensive Reading signings (via Transfermarkt), and see what they're up to nowadays.

Find out which players kicks us off at number ten, on the next page....

Chris Gunter is first up on the list, as he signed for Reading for a fee of £2.70million from Nottingham Forest.

Gunter went on to become a regular in the Reading starting XI in his eight-year spell with the Berkshire-based club. He made 314 appearances in total for the Royals, before departing in the summer of 2020, after his contract with the club reached a conclusion.

Gunter has since gone on to sign for League One side Charlton Athletic, and has made 32 appearances for the Addicks so far.

He'll be hoping he can play his part in the club's bid for promotion back into the Championship this season under the management of Nigel Adkins.

Emerse Fae signed for Reading in the summer of 2007 for a fee of £3.15million altogether, but really struggled to make a notable impact in his time with the Royals.

The midfielder only made 11 appearances altogether for the Berkshire-based side, but left after just one season at the Madejski Stadium.

Fae refused to play for Reading's reserve team at one stage, and was fined two weeks wages for his actions, as well as being suspended by the club.

Unsurprisingly, he left the club in the summer of 2008, and went on to sign for French side Nice, where he later retired from his playing career in 2012.

Adrian Mariappa is next up, with the Jamaican international signing for Reading back in 2012 for a fee of £3,42million.

He arrived from Watford, and went on to make 33 appearances in total for the Berkshire-based club, which included some strong performances whilst they were in the Premier League.

Mariappa left the club in 2013 after his short spell at the Madejski Stadium, as he signed for Crystal Palace, where he went on to spend three years at Selhurst Park with the Eagles.

After returning to Watford in 2016, he has since left them again, and is now playing his football with Championship side Bristol City.

Sam Baldock is joint-sixth on the list, with the striker signing for a fee of £3.51million, when he arrived permanently from Brighton and Hove Albion.

The forward has made 71 appearances in total for Reading, but has struggled for consistent game time in his time with the club, with Baldock often being behind the likes of Lucas Joao and George Puscas.

He is still contracted to Reading, with a number of supporters frustrated that the club haven't been able to move him on permanently sooner.

Baldock is out-of-contract in the summer though, and it seems as though it's only going to be a matter of time before he departs.

Ovie Ejaria narrowly misses out on a place in the top-five on the list, with the midfielder signing for Reading for a fee of £3.51million.

Ejaria caught the eye with a number of impressive showings for Reading in a loan spell in the previous season, and made the permanent move to the Madejski Stadium in 2020.

The midfielder has gone on to become a regular in the Reading team, and has made 86 appearances in total for Reading.

He will be keen to play his part in the club's bid for promotion into the Premier League this season under the management of Veljko Paunovic.

Tiago Ilori is next on the list, with the defender signing for Reading in 2017 from Premier League giants Liverpool for a fee of £3.87million.

The Portuguese defender put in some strong performances for the Royals, and made 64 appearances in total for the club, before leaving permanently in 2019, as he moved to Sporting Lisbon.

Ilori is still contracted to Sporting Lisbon, but is currently out on loan with French side Lorient. But he is yet to feature for Lorient in his loan spell, which will be frustrating for the defender.

It remains to be seen as to whether Ilori has a long-term future with Sporting Lisbon though, as we head towards the conclusion of the 2020/21 season.

Greg Halford is next up, with the former Reading man signing for the Royals for a fee of £4.05million.

Halford arrived from Colchester United in 2007, but struggled to make a notable impact in his time at the Madejski Stadium. Halford made just three appearances in total for the Berkshire-based side, before departing later that year, as he moved to Sunderland.

He went on to have spells with the likes of Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City, before signing for League Two side Southend United in 2020.

Halford has made ten appearances in all competitions for the League Two strugglers this season, as they battle to retain their status as a club in the EFL this term.

Lucas Joao is the first name in the top-three, with the forward signing for Reading for a fee of £4.86million from Sheffield Wednesday.

Joao struggled for consistent game time with Reading in the early stages of his time in Berkshire through injury, but he's certainly made up for lost time in this year's league campaign.

The forward has played a starring role in Reading's bid for promotion this term, with Joao scoring 21 goals in 33 appearances so far this season.

If he can continue to impress for the Berkshire-based side, then they could well be playing their football in the Premier League in the 2021/22 campaign.

Sone Aluko is joint-top of Reading's most expensive arrivals, with the winger signing for Reading from Fulham for a fee of £6.75million.

The Madejski Stadium would have been hopeful that Aluko could replicate the type of performances that made him a fan's favourite at Craven Cottage, but that wasn't the case.

He has made 97 appearances in total for Reading, and is out-of-contract at the end of this year's campaign, and it's highly likely that he'll be heading for the exit door in the summer.

With no potential suitors for his signature, Reading are likely to lose out a considerable amount of money, having signed him for a sizeable fee when he arrived.

George Puscas is Reading's joint record arrival, with the Romanian international arriving at the Madejski Stadium for a fee of £6.75million.

The forward has gone on to make 59 appearances for Reading since signing from Italian giants Inter Milan, and has scored 17 goals in his time with the club.

Puscas has found regular game time hard to come by this season, with the 24-year-old making 17 senior appearances, having been ruled out of action through injury earlier this term.

He is still with Veljko Paunovic's side, and will be hoping he can play his part in the club's bid for promotion into the Premier League this term.