Brighton & Hove Albion may not like it, but Reading FC has made a huge transfer acquisition.
The 31-year-old striker has scored in each of his previous four outings, which speaks volumes about how drastically Marriott’s arrival has changed Reading.
The kind of precision finishing that has rapidly won him over the Royals supporters was on display on Saturday as he equalised against Stockport County in the 72nd minute. The former Derby County striker has received a lot of praise from Reading manager Noel Hunt, who has called him “brilliant” and highlighted his total contribution, which goes beyond goals. Hunt went on to say that the team “are really happy to have him” despite the fact that “Jack has only been in the door a couple of weeks” following the Stockport tie.
Marriott may have finally found his groove in Berkshire after failing to score ten or more league goals for a single team since 2018–19, when he was playing for Derby in the Championship. It’s safe to say that Royals supporters would be in heaven if Marriott were to reach that total this season. The Rams paid up to £5 million to recruit the then-23-year-old after he scored 27 goals for Peterborough United in League One.
As Marriott thrives, things have gotten harder for Brighton’s potential 20-year-old attacker Mark O’Mahoney, who joined Reading on a season-long loan in July. Given that he signed more than a month before Marriott, it is possible that the Irish U21 international, who scored three goals in 13 Championship outings while on loan at Portsmouth last season, was anticipated to be the mainstay of Reading’s attack.
However, O’Mahoney has failed to score in ten appearances across all competitions, seven of which have been in the league, where he has played 117 more minutes than Marriott. O’Mahoney has started the last two league games on the bench, and if that trend continues, it will probably start to cause some discomfort at Brighton, where his development is obviously still a top priority. Marriott has scored four goals in four starts.
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