Former Southampton manager Ruben Selles to take over at Reading

Ruben Selles agreed to oversee Reading's attempt to return to the championship. Credit: Reuters/Toby Melville

Former Southampton manager Ruben Selles has agreed to take charge of Reading to oversee their bid for a return to the league after last season's relegation.

The 40-year-old Spaniard was in talks this week to take over from Paul Ince, who was sacked in April when Noel Hunt ran the campaign as interim manager at Madejski Stadium.

An agreement has been reached. between the club and the manager, with the deal in the process of being finalized before an announcement is made. His arrival will be subject to a work permit which was granted by the Football Association when he was appointed to St. Mary's.

While at the south coast club, Selles scored victories against Chelsea and Leicester City to give hope for survival, but those were the only victories during his tenure. One of his team's best performances was at Arsenal, but two late goals conceded meant they could only draw 3–3.

After the relegation was confirmed, Selles expressed his disappointment at not being able to change the results after replacing Nathan Jones in February.

“You saw a personality, you saw a team that wants to play together,” he said. «I tried every time to do everything with that mindset and in that part I did my best and that's the reality.»

Selles will join a club facing a second EFL point deduction in 18 months hanging over them. They were charged with failing to pay their players on time and in full three times last season for October, November and April.

Owner Dai Yonge was also accused of violating EFL rules by the club.

It was announced that Yakou Meite left the club after refusing a new contract. , while Romanian international George Puskas turned his loan at Genoa into a permanent deal.