Reading extends Andrija Novakovich and secures new loan move

Andrija Novakovich has signed a contract extension with Reading FC, keeping him on the books until June 2020. At the same time as this announcement, Reading also secured a loan move for the 21-year-old striker. He will be heading back to the Netherlands with newly-promoted Fortuna Sittard on a one year loan.

Fortuna finished second in the Eerste Divisie standings last season, winning automatic promotion into the Eredivisie, the top division in the Netherlands. They finished one point behind Ajax’s U-21 team. They add Novakovich, believing that he can contribute goals to help sustain their position in the Dutch top flight.

Fortuna is one of only a few teams that Novakovich didn’t score against last season while on loan at Telstar. In his first full professional season, Novakovich scored 19 times in league play and 22 times in all competitions (he also chipped in five assists). The new loan move represents a stiffer challenge for the young striker as he attempts to build on his impressive campaign last year. While he often faced off against young and inexperienced players a season ago, now Novakovich will have to play against the likes of PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar. Hopefully he is ready for the next step in his development as he moves to a higher level.

While some hoped that he would stay with Reading this summer and fight for a spot in the Championship, manager Paul Clement clearly had different plans. Perhaps he wants to see how Novakovich does at a higher level before putting his complete faith in him. Let’s hope Novakovich takes this opportunity and makes the most out of it.

Hit the comments section to discuss what you think about his extension and the loan move. Good luck Andrija!