Monday evening marked the dawn of a new era at Reading Football Club as the final player who cost a fee, Ovie Ejaira, saw his contract terminated.

The 26-year-old, who had two loan spells before arriving on a permanent deal in 2021, cost £3.5m when arriving from Liverpool.

READ MORE: Reading FC 'mutually terminate' deal after 12 months out

Scoring eight goals in 126 appearances, the former England Under-21 international failed to feature for the club in over 13 months due to injuries and an attitude issue.

His deal was due to expire in the summer, but both parties have agreed on a financial package to cut this short by six months.

Incredibly, this now means that the total squad cost of the first team at Reading is ZERO.

Under a transfer embargo for three years, the squad is now made up of free agents, loan signings and Academy graduates.

As per the terms of their current embargo, which stretches to 2025, the club are not even permitted to pay loan fees for temporary additions and have a cap on wage contributions.

Paul Mukariu remains the only loan signing in the squad following Dominic Ballard's season-ending injury at Wycombe Wanderers.