French forward flies in from Le Havre

Reading Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of French forwardfor an undisclosed fee from Ligue 2 side Le Havre.Mendes flew into the country last night and completed his medical with the club earlier today before this evening putting pen to paper on a two-year contract, keeping him at Madejski Stadium until the summer of 2018."Joseph is the type of player we have been looking for and the sort of player we need in this team," manager Jaap Stam said. "He has good height, he is strong on the ball, he's quick and he's a goalscorer as well."He can play in a central role as a striker or in a wider forward position, so he gives us good options. And I'm really pleased we have secured his signature."Mendes, who turned 25 at the end of March, scored nine goals in 24 league starts for Le Havre last season including four in the last three league games of the campaign!The 6’1” striker helped Normandy-based side to a fourth-placed finish in 2015-16; Le Havre finished their campaign ahead of the likes of Lens and Auxerre, but narrowly missed out on promotion to the top tier on goals scored as Metz clung on to the last Ligue 1 place despite Mendes scoring in a 5-0 final day win for Bob Bradley’s men.Mendes now joins Jaap Stam’s ranks at Reading, adding fresh attacking talent to the new-look squad which is set to begin its pre-season friendly schedule at Boreham Wood on Saturday.The former Grenoble and Le Mans frontman is expected to jet off to Holland at the start of next week as part of the Royals first team group set to embark on a pre-season training camp in Oosterbeek.Chief Executive Nigel Howe said, “Joseph becomes our third signing of the summer so far and on behalf of the club, I would like to welcome him to Reading Football Club and wish him the very best of luck here at Madejski Stadium.”The transfer paperwork remains subject to the normal ratification procedures of the relevant football authorities.