Royals eye South American starlet

Reading look at Venezuelan

By Francisco Acedo   Last updated: 19th August 2008

Reading are looking at Venezuelan starlet Alejandro Valldeperas.

The 17-year-old midfielder has been recommended to The Royals and he is now training with their youth squad.

Valldeperas currently plays for Centro Italo from Caracas, but he is now looking to seal a move to England.

He possesses a Spanish passport making him eligible to move to Britain without a work permit and his agent is hopeful a deal will be struck.

"The chances for the player are good," Luis Aparicio told Vinotintos.

"Reading are interested and we are now waiting for an answer."

Double deal

Meanwhile, the club have confirmed the signings of youngsters Danny Joyce and James Rowe.

Joyce is captain of the Irish Under-17 side and comes in from Dublin outfit Belvedere and adds to Reading's already sizeable Irish contingent.

Rowe has joined from Southampton after opting to pen a scholarship deal with The Royals.

"Danny is a good technical player, and we were pleased to fight off a lot of competition to get him here," academy manager Eamonn Dolan told the club's official website.

"He's made a good start to his scholarship, he's a versatile player who can play centre-back, right-back or in midfield.

"James is a player who we've got from Southampton.

"He's a very good passer of the ball, he's very solid. Physically he's not quite got the strength yet, he's got some way to go with that but if we're patient with him, and he's patient too, he can progress to be a good player."