Light has been shed on Reading’s attempted move for Colchester United attacker Kyreece Lisbie, after his move broke down on deadline day.
Thames Valley rivals Oxford United and fellow League One side Luton Town were also believed to be pursuing a deal for the 22-year-old, but the Royals had a bid accepted.
However, according to The Reading Chronicle, the move was blocked by Sports Alpha Capital (SAC), not by Colchester United.
The consortium, which included former Brazilian international Alexandre Pato, were in talks to take over the Essex-based outfit at the time.
As such, SAC were unwilling to let some of the U’s most ‘valuable assets’ leave the club in the winter window. Samson Tovide was believed to be another player who was deemed too important to lose, with Oxford again linked with his services in the most recent transfer window. Ultimately, the investment group withdrew from talks to take over Colchester a couple of weeks later, leaving chairman Robbie Cowling as the current owner.
This may be a complete coincidence, but Lisbie hasn’t been directly involved in a goal for the U’s since the collapse of his transfer. With ten goals and five assists before January was out, he was an integral part of the side that were knocking on the door of the play-offs. However, their defeat to Chesterfield last night was their fifth loss in eight matches, increasing the gap to the seventh-placed Spireites to seven points.
As such, another season which promised so much under Danny Cowley is set to peter out. And pressure continues to increase on Cowling, which further intensified following last night’s result. Having spent a decade in League Two, and with only one play-off finish to show for it, Colchester must push forward again if they are going to make a serious attempt at returning to the third tier. And one can only wonder how more likely that would be under fresh ownership.
Reading Over Disappointment
It would not be a surprise to see Reading renew their interest in the young forward in the summer, though any potential move would be dependent on which division both sides are in. The Royals may deem a two division step up to be a bridge too far for Lisbie, if they were to win promotion to the Championship via the play-offs.
Wycombe Wanderers finally knocked stumbling Huddersfield Town out of the top six positions yesterday evening, as they recorded a narrow win at Barnsley. But the Berkshire outfit still have a game in hand over the Chairboys, and will be looking to take another step towards their seasonal ambitions this weekend.
While it looks like the position is actually ninth-place Stevenage’s to lose, given their games in hand, Reading still have the Herefordshire side to play this month. That leaves fate in both sides’ hands, while a handful of other sides will still feel they could make a late dash and upset the party. One of those teams are Luton Town, who Reading travel to on Saturday afternoon, while Wycombe have the unenviable task of a visit to Bolton Wanderers.