GARATH MCCLEARY, the veteran winger and former fan favourite with Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz, could be heading back to the spires of Oxford where he kicked-off his career.

The 33-year-old midfielder, who last represented the Boyz in 2016, was released by Championship club Reading towards the end of last month but is firmly on the radar of Oxford United.

Head coach Karl Robinson, who saw his Oxford troops outfought in last month’s English League One play-off final by Wycombe Wanderers, who tried to sign him last term has confirmed that he is keeping tabs on McCleary but fears that Championship teams may swoop first.

Years

Oxford-born McCleary began his career with non-league Oxford City for the 2004-05 season and spent three months with Oxford United, but failed to sign a contract. Impressive stints followed with semi-professional clubs Slough Town and Bromley that attracted the bigger clubs, with McCleary signing for Nottingham Forest in 2008 and then moving to Reading four years later.

McCleary, who scored three goals in his 24 international appearances, was not impressed to discover over the phone while on holiday that he was surplus to requirements at Reading.

As one of Reading’s longest serving players he happily signed a short-term extension to help the club through their final nine league matches of the stop-start season.

When he found out that he was one of five regular first team players not to be offered a contract he hit back over the social media platform Instagram.

Envisaged

He reflected on the social media channel: “@readingfc … what can I say? After 8 years & 270 appearances my time at Reading FC has come to an end! The farewell wasn’t how I envisaged it would be, receiving a call whilst on my holiday after season finished, BUT… I want to say a huge thank you to the all the players past & previous I’ve played with (in football they say you never have friends but I’ve made some for sure) and staff especially the people behind the scenes.

He continued: “No matter who you are treat every person with respect. I’m genuinely sad there are still so many people I haven’t seen to have a proper natter and hug. To the fans who’ve stood by me and stayed positive throughout all the drama, sometimes a message you may not think is seen always is and I’m touched by what’s been said.”

McCleary, based in nearby Wycombe, came perilously close to signing for Oxford United at the start of the 2019-2020 campaign and watched two matches from the stands before deciding to have another shot in the Championship with Reading.

Scouts

He was originally spotted by Jamaica’s scouts when playing at Reading and approached to represent the Boyz.

He made his international debut alongside his then Reading team-mates Adrian Mariappa (now playing at Watford) and Jobi McAnuff (Leyton Orient) for the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Mexico in February 2013 that finished scoreless.

Whether McCleary will be snapped up by a Championship side, with only a few weeks before the new season kicks off, remains to be seen.

At least the former Jamaican star is a wanted man by the top club in his city of birth.