It has been a difficult start to the 2025/26 campaign for Noel Hunt’s Reading side, who have lost all three of their league games and currently find themselves in 22nd place in League One. Although their defence has been largely unimpressive, they have majorly struggled going forward, scoring just once in three league games.

However, according to Football League World, the Royals are looking to target a new signing who could completely change the dynamic of their attack.

Reading Set To Target Jack Marriott Signing

Wrexham striker Jack Marriott has been described as Reading’s “number one target” at the top end of the pitch by Football League World, though the Royals have not yet made their official opening bid for the 30-year-old.

Marriott has spent just over 18 months at the STōK Cae Ras, making 48 appearances and scoring seven goals for the Hollywood-owned side.

Most of these games came during the 2024/25 season, where he scored six times in 26 league games for the Welsh giants as they earned promotion from League One at the first time of asking.

Whilst those goalscoring numbers may not seem very encouraging at first, they are much more impressive when you take into account the number of minutes that Marriott played. The Beverly-born man played just 796 minutes of league football last season, meaning his goals per 90 ratio was better than 94.7% of League One strikers.

However, following the signings of Kieffer Moore and Ryan Hardie, from Bournemouth and Plymouth Argyle respectively, the former Peterborough United star has been pushed further down the pecking order in North-East Wales this summer.

What Could Marriott Offer To Reading?

Noel Hunt’s men have failed to fill the void left by Sam Smith, who moved to Wrexham in January 2025 after a prolific 18-month stint at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Due to the ongoing ownership-related problems at the club, star attackers like Smith and Harvey Knibbs have been replaced by young players who are extremely raw talents. In fact, their oldest forward is Paddy Lane, who is just 24 years of age.

Marriott could bring some much-needed experience to the Reading frontline, and the dressing room in general, which will be vital in helping them to improve their form after a slow start. The frontman was also part of an incredibly successful Wrexham team last season, meaning he knows what it takes to win promotion from the third tier.

He has played 140 games in League One, as well as 119 games in the Championship, scoring a fairly impressive 51 times in that period, which would go some way towards replacing the goals of Smith.

His record in terms of availability has not been great over the past few seasons. But, if Reading can keep him fit, he is surely a guarantee of goals in the third tier.