Sunderland fans will not expect Ovie Ejaria to keep Reading up

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Reading have signed Liverpool midfielder Ovie Ejaria on loan until the end of the season. He joins the club after a mixed spell at Rangers in the first half of the season and will hope to help the Royals survive a relegation battle.

For Sunderland fans, a lot of that will sound familiar.

Sunderland snapped up Ejaria on loan in January of last season. At the time, a 3-1 defeat to Birmingham City in their previous game had seen Chris Coleman’s side drop to 23rd in the Championship table and Ejaria was brought in to help the Black Cats stop the rot.

Nearly a year later and Ejaria has not exactly progressed. He joins Reading with the Berkshire side in exactly the same position, 23rd, in the Championship.

Not only is it a bad omen for Reading, considering Sunderland went on to finish bottom of the league. It is also a stinging indictment of Ejaria’s progress since his time at Sunderland.

The Black Cats fans saw there was talent in the England youth star but, much like the Rangers fans recently, felt Ejaria was not always pushing himself to his absolute limit.

Sunderland, who are now in a promotion fight in League One, will, of course, wish the former loanee all the best at the Madejski Stadium. However, they will not be surprised if he cannot help Reading avoid the drop.