Reading Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of 23-year-old Romanian international striker George Pușcaș.

Pușcaș flew into the country to undergo a medical this afternoon and has now put pen to paper on a five-year contract, completing a transfer from Inter Milan for an undisclosed fee.



Manager José Gomes said, “George is a young, hungry, talented forward with a natural instinct to score goals. Without goals you cannot win games and we now have different options to choose from in the final third of the field. I am looking forward to welcoming him into our squad at Reading.”





Pușcaș’ professional career began in his native Romania but he joined the Italian giants as a young man, making his Serie A debut at the age of 18. A matter of weeks later, he came off the bench against Celtic in a Europa League win and his full debut for Inter came in a 1–1 home draw against Parma four days before his 19th birthday.



Regular football came the following season on loan at Bari, scoring five goals in 18 appearances during his season-long stay at Stadio San Nicola.



George then spent the next year-and-a-half on loan at Benevento, scoring another seven goals in his first campaign - earning promotion to the top flight in the process. Notably he bagged his maiden Serie A goal when he helped Benevento earn their first top flight point with a 2–2 home draw against AC Milan.





A short loan stint at Novara preceded a permanent move to Palermo in August 2018, scoring ten goals in Sicily last season before returning to the San Siro in the summer.



Meanwhile, on the international scene, Pușcaș’ has become a regular Romanian international. He represented his country at various youth stages and found prolific form as an Under-21, netting 18 times for that age group and top scoring alongside Portugal’s Diogo Gonçalves in the qualifying stages for the Under-21 European Championships this summer.



In the tournament itself, George scored from the spot against England and found the net twice against Germany in semi-final defeat in Bologna - and he has also represented the senior Romanian side.



He won the first of his eight Romania caps in May 2018 in a 3–2 win against Chile and scored the first of four international goals in a 3–0 Nations League win over Lithuania.



Now Pușcaș is a Royal until 2024.



Chief Executive Nigel Howe said, “All teams need goals in their ranks and, in George Pușcaș, we have another talented young striker who can get them for us. I am delighted to welcome him to Madejski Stadium and excited to see him represent the Royals.”