Reading forward George Puscas has joined Italian side Genoa in a permanent deal following his loan spell, the club have confirmed via their website.
Puscas spent last season on loan with the Italian side in Serie B and earned promotion to Serie A with the club, which is famous for being the oldest club in Italy.
Part of the forward’s loan deal with the Italian club was that the move would become permanent should they achieve promotion. The club sealed promotion with a 2-1 win over Ascoli at home last month and thus triggered the clause, the Royals have confirmed the news that Puscas has completed the switch to Italy. The striker joins for an undisclosed fee and the club have also confirmed that it will be payable to them in instalments.
During his time in Italy, Puscas made 27 appearances for the side, scoring four goals in the process and came off the bench for both of the side’s final two fixtures of the season, which included a 4-3 win over Bari and a defeat to Frosinone, who won the title last season. The forward is a Romanian international, who has received 34 caps for his country and scored 10 goals in that time. In total, he played over 1000 minutes of football this season, only playing the full 90 minutes of a fixture on two occasions.
Puscas joined Reading in 2019 and scored 20 goals in 91 appearances for the Royals. The second half of the 2021/22 season saw the forward depart on loan to join Pisa before he opted to spend this season on loan in Serie B with Genoa, where he will now sign a permanent deal to continue with the team in their return to the top flight.
The Royals will play in League One next season following points deductions last season and face another in the upcoming season also. Restructuring for third-tier football may mean more exits are on the cards for some players within the squad. Tom Ince’s low release clause has been the subject of conversation recently, but it is yet to be seen if anyone is going to make a move to sign him.
Writer’s View
Reading have been relegated to League One, which means there will be some restructuring at the club and Puscas might just be the start of that process. Players with international experience may not wish to drop to a level such as League One in order to protect their careers with their country.
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