Reading’s Lucas João could still make millions for Sheffield Wednesday
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João currently has 14 goals to his name for Reading in 18 Championship games, and has got 17 goals this season if you bring his League Cup hattrick over Colchester United into matters.
With eight goals in his last eight games, the former Owl is certainly playing his part in trying to help the Royals back into the Premier League, but his form also means that a number of clubs elsewhere will be keeping a close eye on him.
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Hide AdWhen Wednesday sold João to Reading for around £5m, they made sure to include a sell-on fee of 20% in the deal, meaning that the Owls will get 20% of whatever he’s sold for if his current club do agree to a move in the future, and with the price of attackers these days it could be quite substantial.
Looking back at the last couple of seasons, the likes of Ollie Watkins, Eberechi Eze, Neil Maupay and Che Adams have all been sold for upwards of £15m, while another, Saïd Benrahma, is likely to join West Ham United for £20m+ once his loan from Brentford has come to an end.
In the case of Watkins – whose impressive 25-goal haul last season is not beyond João’s grasp in 2020/21 – he was sold for almost £30m and is only a couple of years younger than the Portuguese forward.
If you consider that top scorers in the Championship in recent seasons have been sold for upwards of £20m, it would be fair to assume that Reading would require a similar fee for João if they were to consider selling.
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Hide AdIf that were to happen, and it’s still a big ‘if’ of course, then the Owls could to recoup a few million pounds that would certainly not go amiss given the current climate and lack of revenue.
While it may not be particularly nice to see a former player doing so elsewhere, Wednesday still have some skin in the game with regards to the 27-year-old forward – so the more money Reading make, the better for the Owls.