READING FC transfer target Theo Walcott is set to announce his retirement from professional football.
According to TalkSport, the former England and Arsenal star is set to call a day on his playing career at 34.
Walcott had been training at Bearwood earlier in pre-season ahead of a potential move to the Royals.
Reading manager Ruben Selles admitted that he was keen on recruiting Walcott and said that there was an offer for him to join on the table.
Walcott was close to joining the Royals in the January transfer window, but were not able to negotiate a deal with the Saints due to being under a transfer embargo.
The 34-year-old forward has vast experience at the top level having broke onto the scene with Southampton as a teenager before earning a high profile move to Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in 2006.
Walcott played for the gunners for more than a decade and netted 108 goals in all competitions in 397 appearances and helped them to win three FA Cups. He scored the opening goal in Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa in the 2015 FA Cup Final.
He also won 47 international caps for England across 10 years and netted eight times, including a hat-trick against Croatia in 2008 in a World Cup qualifying match.
Walcott moved to Everton in 2018 for around £20million and scored 11 times in 85 appearances before making a homecoming return to Southampton in 2021.
