Fae given Reading backing

Fae: Out of position

Nick Hammond has been encouraged by club record signing Emerse Fae's start to his Reading career.

Fae joined the Premier League side in a £2.5million move from Nantes in August and has so far made three appearances.

Though naturally a central midfielder, the Ivory Coast international has been playing on the right for Reading.

Director of football Hammond accepts Fae has been playing out of position, but has taken positives from the early displays.

"I think Fae has shown some real positive criteria," Hammond told the Reading Evening Post. "He's a central midfielder who has been playing on the right.

Lots to learn

"He has been thrown into the deep end in that respect, but I thought there were some encouraging signs.

"There are a lot of things that he'll need to learn that we do here as a matter of course - particularly that defensive awareness.

"I don't think there's a lack of enthusiasm to do it, but it's just the way we go about things. That's only natural when you come to a new club, you have to understand what the requirements are. But I think he has shown some real positive criteria being able to affect the game going forward.

"At this level you are always looking for people who can do that, but there is a lot of work to do for the players and the coaching staff."