Done – Liverpool Complete Deal For Portuguese Defender

Liverpool today confirmed that Tiago Ilori’s spell at the Merseyside club has come to an end, as he has completed a permanent move to Reading. The former Sporting Lisbon defender was linked with a move to Reading for a number of weeks and the Portuguese defender will now be playing for the Royals.

The 23-year-old was brought in with a lot of fanfare but Ilori barely got a chance to showcase his ability on the pitch and only made three senior appearances for the side. Jurgen Klopp did give him his professional debut for the senior side in last season’s FA Cup match against Exeter but that was as good as it got for the defender.

Ilori did spend a lot of time away from the club and was loaned out to Bordeaux, Granada and Aston Villa but he couldn’t get a lot of playing time with these clubs as well. It is a bit of a sad note to see another talented youngster leave the club but regular football would be good for his career now.

Ilori has been part of a bit of a clear out by Klopp this season as a number of other youngsters have also been sold or loaned out. Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith are just a couple of players who were sold out to other clubs and hopefully, they should get better with their new clubs.

It is quite possible that Klopp and Liverpool could not provide enough quality time on the pitch at the club and with no one willing to take up loan deals for players; the club had to sell the young players.

Ilori’s deal to join Reading reputedly features a 25% sell-on fee for future moves and that certainly could work in Liverpool’s favour should they decide to bring the Portuguese defender back to Anfield.

The club did wish Ilori the best of luck in his future endeavours and with Reading trying to push hard for a promotion back to the Premier League, we could be seeing the former Sporting defender back in the Premier League sooner than expected.

It won’t be easy to perform regularly in the Championship but Ilori was always a talented player and if he does perform regular and well for the Royals, he could still have another crack at Liverpool. Ilori won’t be the last player to leave the club in the transfer window though and it will be interesting to see if Klopp has any other players lined up to come into the side.