Former Royal Mark Bowen could be set to become the new Director of Football at Reading, according to reports.

The former Norwich City and Wales international had a successful career, ending his playing days at Reading before moving into coaching, and has been Mark Hughes’ assistant since his time as manager of the Welsh national team.

Bowen became the Technical Consultant at Reading in March 2019, helping Jose Gomes and the players to achieve their aim of safety.

This came after the Sporting Director, Gianluca Nani, was part of the mass exodus of staff leaving along with Ron Gourlay and Paul Clement.

How much Bowen contributed is up for question, but the hierarchy are seemingly impressed as he is now close to staying at the club in the new role.

He was favourite to takeover his boyhood club Swansea City, following Graham Potter’s move to Brighton and Hove Albion.

However, some report that he was unhappy with the transfer budget discussed and is now out of the frame for his first management role as he looks set to support Gomes at the Madejski Stadium.

With Nigel Howe currently holding the role, as well as his day-to-day role as CEO, it will be a welcomed appointment for the 61-year-old.

Acting as a buffer between Howe and Gomes, Bowen could see himself taking a lot of responsibility, considering he is vastly inexperienced on boardroom level.

However with Howe having now done this role himself, temporarily while Bowen was Technical Consultant, Bowen should receive plenty of help from above as he tries to figure out his new role and how to make it work best for both the footballing and board room level.