Reading's Head of Football Operations Mark Bowen has revealed Luke Southwood wants to be a first-choice shot-stopper next season despite being pushed down the pecking order at his current side, speaking to Berkshire Live.

The 24-year-old initially impressed many supporters when he came in for a then-injured Rafael Cabral in September, performing well for the first couple of months but then saw his performance levels drop after conceding a soft goal against Hull City in the early stages of December.

Both Veljko Paunovic and his successor Paul Ince moved to bring in new first-choice stoppers with Karl Hein and Orjan Nyland arriving, not exactly giving the academy graduate the biggest vote of confidence.

And though he was the Berkshire outfit's only senior stopper at the time with Nyland being released, Rafael leaving in January and Hein going back to Arsenal after suffering a season-ended injury, Football Insider reported at the end of May that the Royals had told him to find a new club this summer.

Since then, Joe Lumley has arrived on loan from Middlesbrough and Dean Bouzanis has signed a three-year deal at the club, potentially making Southwood surplus to requirements at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Although Bowen hasn't completely closed the door on the 24-year-old yet, he didn't rule out an exit either as he spoke to Berkshire Live.

He said: "I see a future until Luke ever leaves the building. He still has a future here, of course he has. Things can change very quickly in football.

"But I've spoken to Luke and he is looking at the situation and thinking he has been a number one, he wants to be a number one.

"There have been clubs who have enquired for him and we'll continue to have discussions.

"And if it is right for us and right for Luke going forward, then we'll make a decision on him. That's all I can say. Nothing is definite. We'll just see how things develop."

The Verdict:

Although it's perhaps unfair on Southwood that he faces the prospect of being let go, with the stopper not having a full season to prove himself, it would probably be best for all parties if he was to move on at this point.

For Southwood, he's right to want to be number one because the 24-year-old is now at an age where he needs to start playing regularly if he wants to fulfil his potential.

He will also want to retain his place in the Northern Ireland goalkeeping setup, so it would make sense for him if he secured a move away, even if he has to move down a level before potentially working his way back up.

And for the Royals, having three senior goalkeepers in their current situation would be unwise with other areas to address as well, so they should be actively looking for clubs to take him off their hands.

Keeping him in Berkshire may also block the pathway of Jokull Andresson and Coniah Boyce-Clarke, both of whom look extremely promising and could be key players in the first team in the future.