Former Leeds United man ‘likely and obvious’ candidate to land EFL manager job

Former Leeds United striker Noel Hunt is the ‘likely and obvious’ candidate to replace Ruben Selles at Reading, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook on X. The 41-year-old has been the Royals’ Under-23’s since 2022.

The Berkshire outfit have a vacancy to fill following Hull City’s swoop for Selles. The Tigers sacked Tim Walter last week following their poor run of form.

Hunt, who made three caps for the Republic of Ireland national team during his playing days, was on the books at Leeds from 2013 to 2015. He made 22 appearances in all competitions for the Whites but didn’t score a goal.

The Waterford-born man started his career at Shamrock Rovers before moving over to England as a youngster. He then went on to have spells at Dunfermline Athletic, Dundee United, Reading, Ipswich Town, Southend United, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic and Watford before hanging up his boots in 2018.

His time with the Whites didn’t quite go to plan in the end but he was a hit with some of his other teams. He scored 112 goals in 479 games altogether.

Hunt delved into the coaching world with Swindon Town in November 2018 as their assistant boss under Richie Wellens. He then became their caretaker boss a couple of years later when Wellens left for Salford City.

He linked back up with Wellens in 2021 at Doncaster Rovers before switching to Reading as their Senior Professional Development Coach. The Royals then turned to him on an interim basis with the first-team after they cut ties with Paul Ince before he dropped back into his position with the development squad when Selles arrived.

Hunt has done some decent work with the younger players at the Select Car Leasing Stadium and said earlier this year: “The team have been great, and they’ve been consistent throughout the season. I don’t think many people will have put us so high in the table at the start of the season. With all the boys that went up to the first team it was going to be tough, but the team have stepped up and they’ve all contributed - from the Under 18, 17 and 16 teams, whenever they’ve stepped up. We’ve got a strong core that is full of belief and good characters. We need to keep going. The messages have stayed consistent throughout the season where we only look at things one game at a time.”

He added: “Our Academy is special. It’s produced so many wonderful players over the last 15 to 20 years, and people have sacrificed an awful lot to get it to where it is today. To be up there alongside some of the best Academies in the country and maybe playing in Europe next year, it shows how strong we are. Even after selling seven or eight players from our age groups we still manage to find a way to keep going and keep producing – and that’s true of the whole Academy – it’s a massive credit to everyone who works there.”