Royals Academy graduate, Danny Loader is looking forward to the challenge of his first full season of senior football - and he's under no illusions about the task at hand.
The 18-year-old was away with England's Under-20s at the famed Toulon Tournament over June, and he kept his fitness at a high level as he reported back for pre-season training on Monday after the Young Lions' group stage exit.
Following the landmarks of his league debut, his first senior goal and several appearances for England's youth age groups in 2018-19, Loader hopes to make further strides in the new campaign.
On his summer of football, he said: "It was interesting, obviously not the outcome we would have wanted but it was a good experience to play up an age group.
"I learned quite a bit because there were players there who are older, like Josh Sims who's 22 years old, there's a lot of older players I can learn from.
"It was good to keep my fitness up too, training every day. I feel like I've worked quite hard over the summer - it's a big season for me, I'm ready."
Following his step into senior football last season, Loader hopes he can keep up the momentum he built for himself and continue his development in the new campaign.
"The back of last season was quite good for me," he continued. "I'm looking to build on that, make more milestones and gain bigger achievements.
"The last game of the season was very enjoyable for us, a good day for the Academy as well, so we're looking to build on that and hopefully get more players in the team."
