Ex-Reading, Stoke City man comes out of retirement to join eighth-tier club aged 31
Today at 04:21 AM
Reading and Stoke City’s ex-defender Liam Moore has made a move to Spalding United, who play in English football’s eighth tier.
Reading fans were particularly fond of Moore during his time with the Royals, during which which he had made 234 appearances for the club.
Moore came through the ranks at Leicester City were he made 67 appearances including 11 in the Premier League. He was highly rated in his youth days, playing 10 times for England U21s before declaring for Jamaica later on in his career.
Whilst with the Foxes he had two loan spells with Brentford and spent time with Bristol City and Bradford City. He made the switch to Reading in August 2016 and spent the prime of his career in Berkshire.
After an unsuccessful loan spell with Stoke City in 2022 he was released in the summer of 2023 following Reading’s relegation to League One. After being picked up by Northampton Town, for the 2023/24 campaign he once again found himself without a club this summer and announced his retirement in August.
However, after a short spell out of the game, Moore is back.
Southern League Premier Division Central side Spalding United have completed the signing of Hooper on a permanent basis. They made the announcement on X on Thursday afternoon.
A huge asset
Moore might have had injury problems and found games harder to come by later in his career but there’s little doubt that he could have found more success in the EFL going forward.
Said injuries were a key factor in his decision to hang up the boots earlier this year.
However, with the rigours of eighth-tier football with Spalding United likely to be far less significant than life in the pro game, perhaps Moore can find joy in the non-league game.
If he can stay fit and get to his best, there’s no doubt he could be a massive asset at that level.
What could have been
At the peak of his powers, Moore looked destined for the Premier League. In July 2018, Brighton were pushing to sign the central defender which led to him handing in a transfer request.
Brighton had just survived in the Premier League after being promoted the year prior. Moore had caught their attention and was seen as the perfect partner for Lewis Dunk.
Reading rejected three bids for their captain with the third reaching near £8m.
Moore retracted his request the next month and stayed with the Royals. However, for both Reading and Moore, you have to wonder what could have been.
The post Ex-Reading, Stoke City man comes out of retirement to join eighth-tier club aged 31 appeared first on The72 - Football League News.
