Earlier this summer the Royals took their number of new Academy scholars to 14 by signing 16-year-old duo Danny Joyce and James Rowe.
Joyce [pictured] is a versatile defender or midfielder, and is captain of Ireland's under 17s team. He was previously with Dublin club Belvedere before making the switch to Berkshire and linking up with our large Irish contingent.
He has already played a couple of reserve team friendlies during this pre-season, scoring against Maidenhead United and also lining up against Basingstoke Town in comprehensive 4-0 and 5-1 victories.
This summer he lined up for Ireland in the under 17s UEFA Championships in Turkey, playing in all three games.
Rowe was with fellow Championship side Southampton before deciding to put pen to paper on a scholarship deal with the Royals. He is a central midfield player.
Academy Manager Eamonn Dolan told readingfc.co.uk, "Danny is a good technical player, and we were pleased to fight off a lot of competition to get him here.
"He's made a good start to his scholarship, he's a versatile player who can play centre back, right back or in midfield.
"James is a player who we've got from Southampton. He's a very good passer of the ball, he's very solid. Physically he's not quite got the strength yet, he's got some way to go with that but if we're patient with him, and he's patient too, he can progress to be a good player."
Our 12 other Scholars who joined this season are: Andrew White, Jacob Walcott, Rhys Tyler, Jake Taylor, Alex Stockinger, Michael Pritchard, Jack Mills, Simon Locke, Oliver Kelly, Simon Cox, Tom Browne and Abdulai Baggie.
