Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp is believed to be a shock candidate to become the new Reading boss.
The Royals are looking for a new manager after sacking Steve Clarke with the club eighth in the Championship, two weeks after the former Chelsea assistant had rejected the chance to join Fulham.
According to The Mirror, former Gunners striker Bergkamp is on Reading’s shortlist of possible replacements as they consider bringing in a foreign coach for the first time in their 144-year history.
The Dutchman left English football upon his retirement in 2006, after 11 seasons in North London in which he became an all-time Arsenal great, and has since been honing his coaching skills at Ajax.
The Mirror adds that the Royals looked at Bergkamp before appointing Clarke as successor to Nigel Adkins a year ago, and are now debating whether to pursue him again or go for Nigel Pearson.
Pearson has fans among the Madejski Stadium hierarchy, as The Mirror reports, after leading Leicester City to promotion to the Premier League in 2014 and then inspiring their great escape last season.
It could now come down to how many gamblers are in the Reading boardroom. Pearson has bags of Championship experience and represents a safer choice, but Bergkamp would put bums in seats.
The mercurial forward was one of the best players to watch during his decade in the Premier League and Reading fans would surely be excited to see what sort of football he could produce from the dugout.
Bergkamp scored 102 goals in 385 appearances for Arsenal, winning three titles and four FA Cups.
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