SOCCER:Reading director of football Nicky Hammond has welcomed striker Kevin Doyle's decision to commit himself to the club for the next two-and-a-half years as a major coup.
The 23-year-old Republic of Ireland player has been handed a pay rise following 10 Premiership goals in the club's first top-flight campaign.
Fellow countryman Stephen Hunt, who hit the headlines in October for the challenge that left Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech with a fractured skull, has also signed a new deal.
Hunt, whose previous contract was due to expire in the summer, is now contracted until the summer of 2009.
Like Reading themselves, who thrashed West Ham 6-0 on New Year's Day, Doyle has been one of the surprise packages of the season. The 23-year-old is the Premiership's third most prolific scorer so far and cost just over €100,000 from Cork City two summers ago - 360 times less than the cost of Andriy Shevchenko.
Hammond said: "Kevin's contract extension is very significant and of major importance to our plans moving forward. He has quickly become an outstanding Premiership striker, and the great thing about Kevin is that despite all his success and his meteoric rise in the past 18 months, he's still the same level-headed young man who joined us from Cork."
Doyle certainly appeared to be happy with the deal.
"Once we got to talking it was done pretty quickly," he said.
"Thankfully Nick Hammond and the chairman (John Madejski) have shown faith in me for the next three-and-a-half years.
"I don't think I could ever have planned the last couple of years.
"It has been a dream. I wouldn't have ever believed it could happen but I'll look to improve, and if I keep working hard then anything is possible."
Chairman Madejski added: "This is extremely good news and I am delighted Kevin and Stephen have committed themselves to Reading.
"They are two of the nicest lads you could possibly wish to meet, and they are both very important players who epitomise everything that is good about football."
Anthony Stokes, the 18-year-old striker who scored 14 goals for Falkirk up to Christmas during his loan spell from Arsenal, looks set to leave the London club on a permanent basis after they agreed a fee, rumoured to be £2.7 million, with Charlton Athletic and Sunderland yesterday.
Celtic are also believed to be interested in the teenager, but Charlton appear to be the favourites to sign Dubliner Stokes - indeed, unofficial sources were claiming last night he had already agreed to join the club, currently second from bottom of the Premiership.
Ironically, Stokes spent time at Sunderland during the summer on trial, but then-manager Niall Quinn turned down the opportunity to sign him on loan because of the number of strikers already at the club.
