The former Lincoln captain’s arrest has strengthened Noel Hunt’s attempt to guide Reading back to the Championship.
Lincoln’s Irish defender Paudie O’Connor has been praised by Reading manager Noel Hunt.
Former Ireland striker Hunt is overjoyed with the four-year contract that O’Connor, who captained the Imps, signed after joining on a free transfer.
Before relocating to Leeds United in 2017, the Limerick native played for his hometown team, Limerick, in the League of Ireland. In 2019, he finalised a permanent move to Bradford following loan stints with Blackpool and Bradford.
Lincoln signed him three years ago after his contract expired – and now Reading have taken advantage of a similar situation by landing the 27-year-old for free.
Former Shamrock Rovers, Reading and Leeds striker Hunt said: “Paudie is a fantastic lad and will be a big character in the dressing room.
“He’s exactly the type of person we want at our Football Club for our rebuild. He’s been a huge part of Lincoln’s success over the past three years.
“We’ve had our eyes on him for a while, I’ve been a big admirer of his for some time. I knew about him when he was in the Leeds setup, and I can’t wait to work with him on a day to day basis.”
O’Connor spent two years at Limerick, suffering relegation before helping the club bounce back up
After trials at Crystal Palace and Leicester, he earned a move to Leeds and made his debut at Elland Road against Sunderland near the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
He played a total of four times for Leeds, and is now closing in on 350 career appearances.
O’Connor won the Players’ Player of the Year award in 2022 and was Bradford’s Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
“Paudie was always the person we expected to sign at this point,” stated Rob Couhig, chairman of New Reading.
