A new study undertaken by popular football website Training Ground Guru has found that Reading FC had the 12th most productive academy in Engish football for the 2020/21 season.

The study ranks all Category One to Category Three academies based on the number of England-eligible players who made at least one appearance last season. The system is weighted so that a Premier League appearance is worth more than a Championship appearance and the process continues down the pyramid all the way to the National League.

Top of the list is Manchester United while Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Southampton round out the top five. Coming in at number 12, Reading are second amongst Championship clubs with only Middlesbrough ahead of them. 

Reading don’t score particularly highly for players who have earned a Premier League appearance in the last year, but they sit third, behind just Middlesbrough and Manchester United, in terms of Championship players produced.

Reading Chronicle: Tom Holmes, yet another Reading academy graduate, celebrates his first goal for the club having joined at the age of 8. Image by: JasonPIXTom Holmes, yet another Reading academy graduate, celebrates his first goal for the club having joined at the age of 8. Image by: JasonPIX

Meanwhile, when ignoring the weighting system and looking solely at the raw quantity of players to come through each club’s academy, Reading rank joint-8th overall.

Of course, this study does have its limitations, namely that only players eligible for an England cap were counted and that those who have earned game-time in leagues outside of England have also been excluded.

Despite this it’s extremely impressive - if somewhat unsurprising - to see the illustrious Royals youth set-up rank so highly. Understandebly though, many fans have become frutsrated after seeing numerous of the club's academy products depart for negligent fees in recent years including Omar Richards who joined German champions Bayern Munich in the summer.

Read More: Why Tom Holmes is so important to Reading Football Club

While the imprint of Reading’s academy can been seen all across the country - and indeed the continent - there remains a strong presence within the current squad through graduates such as Tom Holmes, Tom McIntyre, and Jahmari Clarke.

With intense limitations on transfer spending over the coming seasons years due to sanctions handed down by the EFL, there will surely be an even greater reliance on the Reading academy to produce first-team ready players. It would come as no surprise to see them ranked higher than 12th this time next year.