Ezatolahi set for a stint with Iran national team before joining up with Reading FC teammates

The Reading Chronicle – READING, Paul Clement says it is the responsibility of the entire team to turn Royals’ fortunes around and has urged fans should not put too much pressure on Saeid Ezatolahi.

The highly-rated Iranian midfielder was snapped up by Reading FC on a season-long loan deal last week.

He is expected to feature during the international break against Uzbekistan before linking up with his Royals team-mates later next week.

The 21-year-old FC Rostov playmaker – dubbed the ‘Persian Pogba – has spent time in Spain with Atlético Madrid, and Clement believes he will provide some much-needed physicality to the team after Reading plummeted to the bottom of the Championship table.

Clement said: “He has had his medical. He is fit and is going to go with the Iran national team. As soon as that’s finished he will come and join us, subject to his UK Visa being approved.

“Once that is done he will join us. We will have a good look how he his, what shape he is in and hopefully he will be involved very soon.

“He is hopefully going to help, because he is good player. [He is] strong, he is over 6ft 2ins. I think we need a bit of physicality in this team. In this league you do need it.

“He can pass, he can head, he can tackle. I am really looking forward to working with him, but the responsibility is not on him, the responsibility is on me as the coach and every individual in the squad.”

On the international scene, Ezatolahi was called into the Iran national team by manager Carlos Queiroz and promptly became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Iran national team at the age of 19 years and 42 days after scoring in a 3–1 victory against Turkmenistan in November 2015.

Ezatolahi was signed within 24 hours of the loan window closing, with an option to join Reading on a permanent basis.

Clement said: “We did business where we felt we needed it. It ended up being more of a challenge to move some players on, for various reasons. We have got this squad now until January 1 and everyone needs to be fighting to play.

Royals afell to the bottom of the table after losing 2-1 to Sheffield Wednesday at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday, a run of four defeats in six games.

The side have won just three times in 28 league games in 2018, and Clement responded to narrowly avoiding relegation last season by recruiting eight players.