Defender excited with Premier League chance

New Reading defender Adrian Mariappa has admitted that he is ectstatic that he has joined the Royals, and can't wait to start life in the Premier League.

The 25-year old concluded his transfer to the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday, amid weeks of speculation he was on the verge of moving to Berkshire. The transfer fee is in the region of £2 million and leaves Watford after seven successful years with the club he grew-up with. Mariappa will provide competition for current centre-back pairing Alex Pearce and Kaspars Gorkss.

Speaking to the Official Reading FC Website, Mariappa said: 'I just can't wait to get onto a training pitch with all the lads and start settling in, getting to know everyone and playing in the pre-season games we have coming up. The Premier League is the best league in the world and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to try to work my way into this team and perform for Reading Football Club.'

'It's a great feeling. They were three guys who I worked with coming up through the youth system at Watford, and I've played with Jobi [McAnuff] and Bryn Gunnarsson as well. So it was nice to know there would be a few familiar faces here. But Reading Football Club is a great place to come to anyway, so it wasn't a hard decision to make the move here.'

Wiki page: Adrian Mariappa

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.