Reading bid $1m for India's FernandesReading have made an offer of $1million to
sign Brandon Fernandes - a midfielder born in Goa. If the deal goes through it
will mean the 19-year-old becomes the first Indian to sign for a Premier League
club. Fernandes has spoken exclusively to ESPN STAR Sports and said moving to
Reading would be a dream come true. "It is a great honour to have had a trial
with Reading and [if a deal can be reached] I will be very happy to play for
them. "I have been training with the club's under-21s which is a good
experience. I think that if I want to move to England I need to match their
players physically." Fernandes' future will be decided by ASD Cape Town - an
independent South African football academy based in the country's
second-largest city. And as negotiations with Reading continue, their target is
currently training with Championship club Leicester City. "I have known about
Leicester for a long time, particularly because of Gary Lineker. I hav
e watched his goals for the club. "There are a lot of Indian supporters in the
city of Leicester so if I came here [instead of Reading] I am sure I would get
lots of encouragement from them." Leicester and Reading are not the first
English teams to have been alerted to Fernandes' ability and potential - in
2008 he impressed scouts at a Manchester United Soccer Skills tournament. He
has also played for his country at Under-17 and Under-19 level and describes
himself as an attacking midfielder. Fernandes has football in his family - his
father is a former executive committee member of the Goa Football Association
and his younger brother is named Beckham Fernandes. Unlike Brandon though,
Beckham - named after the former United and Real Madrid player - likes cricket
instead of football.
