Reading Football Club are delighted to announce the signature of 21-year-old attacking midfielder Pelle Clement who has put pen to paper on a three-year deal with the Royals.

The versatile Amsterdam-born player completed his medical this morning before putting pen to paper to officially sign for the Royals for an undisclosed fee this afternoon – becoming our first acquisition of the summer transfer window.



“Pelle is a player who comes to us from Jong Ajax, having been involved in the first team squad over in Amsterdam last season,” Royals boss Jaap Stam said.



“He will need to learn and adapt to the game over here of course, but he is a young, very promising player with a good personality. He is quick, technically good and has good stamina – and he is capable of playing in midfield, up front or in the wide or wing back positions. So I’m pleased to have him with us here in Reading.”

Clement is a graduate from the esteemed Ajax Academy, quickly establishing himself as a regular at Jong Ajax following his Eerste Divisie debut as an 18-year-old in 2015.



And last season, the highly-regarded midfielder make his full Ajax bow – scoring twice on debut after coming off the bench at half-time in a 6-1 win over Kozakken Boys in the KNVB Cup.



Clement went on to earn a league debut as a second half substitute in another comprehensive victory over NEC in an Eredivisie match that was played in front of nearly 50,000 at the Amsterdam ArenA a month later!



And he also made an appearance in Ajax’s Europa League campaign – replacing Amin Younes in a 2-0 victory over Panathinaikos. Ajax, of course, went on to contest the Final against Manchester United last season.



A Dutch youth international, Clement scored on his full Ajax debut just before Christmas, pulling a goal back in a 2-1 KNVB Cup defeat to SC Cambuur in mid-December.



Now Pelle will join the Dutch revolution in RG2, linking up with his former Jong Ajax coaches - Jaap Stam, Andries Ulderink and Said Bakkati - whilst sharing a first team dressing room with the likes of Joey van den Berg and Roy Beerens.



Chief Executive Nigel Howe said, “We are excited to welcome Pelle to the club – a hungry young player from Holland with plenty of promise. And I am delighted that we have secured our first signature of the summer as the hard work continues apace as we shape a squad and prepare a first team for the brand new challenge of 2017-18.”

The transfer paperwork, of course, remains subject to the normal ratification procedures of the relevant football authorities.