Sam Baldock joins Reading
Brighton and Hove Albion striker Sam Baldock has joined Reading for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be around the £1m mark.
The striker has signed a three year deal with the Biscuitmen, bringing to an end four relatively successful if injury hit years with the Albion.
Baldock arrived at the Amex for £2m from Bristol City in August 2014 having won the League One Golden Boot the previous season. The Albion were determined to nab the striker who netted 26 goals for the Robins in 2013-14, eventually succeeding with their sixth bid.
With that perseverance having paid off, Sami Hyypia applied his tactical acumen to the situation and decided that Baldock – who had been so successful playing off a target man for City – would be better suited stuck out on the left wing.
The result was that it took Baldock until his 12th game to net his first goal, which also turned out to be the only one he managed with the Finnish F**kwit in charge. Once Hyypia was finally gone, things improved for Baldock and he netted three goals in 11 games under Chris Hughton before his season was curtailed by injury.
He managed four goals from 33 appearances in 2015-16 but provided plenty of ammunition that season for strike partner Tomer Hemed and scored 12 in 34 the season that the Albion won promotion to the Premier League. That was despite the fact he missed virtually the whole run in, a “minor knock” ruling him out from mid-March until the final game of the season at Aston Villa in May.
Baldock picked up another injury in pre-season ahead of the Albion’s debut campaign in the Premier League, ruling him out until Christmas time. By then, Jurgen Locadia and Leonardo Ulloa were lined up to come through the door, pushing him further down the pecking order. As a result, he featured only twice in the top flight and managed three FA Cup appearances. His final Albion record stands at 20 goals in 97 games.
Should the reported £1m fee prove to be correct, then Reading have got themselves a bit of a bargain presuming they can keep Baldock fit. That is a pretty big if, given he picked up at least one month-long injury in each of his four seasons at the Amex. Despite that, he should be a real asset for Paul Clement’s side, especially as they only scored 46 times last season.
Baldock’s departure means that the Albion will need to bring in another homegrown player to replace him if they are to reach the Premier League’s required quota. Many supporters will hope that is Liam Moore coming the other way from the Madjeski Stadium.
With the Albion having just lost one of their better look-a-likes, we’re hoping that Miliband could be replaced by a Jeremy Corbyn look-a-like. That does however look unlikely given chairman Tony Bloom’s religion.
