Thorvaldsson has played in five different countries

Reading have completed the loan signing of Iceland international striker Gunnar Thorvaldsson from Danish side Esbjerg until the end of the season.

The 27-year-old, who will be available from 3 January, has been training with the club for the last couple of weeks.

Thorvaldsson, who has 21 caps for his country, told the club website: "It feels very good to be here.

"I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and I'm just going to try and grab it."

Thorvaldsson won the Swedish golden boot during a spell with Halmstads, a feat which helped earn him a move to German Bundesliga side Hannover 96, but his time there was blighted by injury.

He has also had spells in his homeland - with IBV - and Norwegians Valerenga.

"It's been really tough in the last couple of years but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so hopefully I'll do well here," he said.

Meanwhile Royals midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson has apologised to the club's travelling supporters for their 4-1 defeat at Plymouth Argyle.

Sigurdsson, who scored for Reading at Home Park, told BBC Radio Berkshire the 4-1 defeat was "embarrassing".

He said: "I want to say 'sorry' to all the fans that travelled. I don't know what we were doing on the pitch - we didn't deserve anything from the game.

"We've been doing all right in the last couple of games but we didn't turn up."

The result leaves Reading 20th in the Championship table, two points clear of the relegation zone.

Reading's next game is a home tie against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

Sigurdsson added: "We wanted to go into the New Year with a win, but we just have to go and do a job against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

"We'll go into it like every other game. I don't know if it's good or bad timing."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version