By Pete O'Rourke, Transfer Correspondent

1st Jun, 2023 | 2:02pm

Sources: Reading line up move to sign Chelsea star Nathan Baxter

Reading are lining up a move for Chelsea goalkeeper Nathan Baxter this summer, sources have told Football Insider.

The 24-year-old shot-stopper is set to have his contract at Stamford Bridge expire at the end of the season and he is now preparing to leave the London club as a free agent.

Baxter has spent the past two seasons on loan at Championship club Hull City, but The Tigers have decided against making his deal permanent next season.

With Hull turning down the opportunity to sign Baxter permanently, Reading have moved quickly and are hoping to land Baxter on a free transfer.

The recently relegated Championship side have tabled an offer for the English goalkeeper as they look to build a squad capable of bouncing back to the second tier at the first time of asking.

Joe Lumley was Reading’s No.1 in the 2022/23 campaign, but the 28-year-old only joined the club on loan from Middlesbrough.

The Royals view Baxter as an ideal fit as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper next season with 20-year-old Coniah Boyce-Clarke still gathering experience.

Baxter came through the ranks at Chelsea’s Cobham academy, graduating to the first team in 2016 but failing to ever make a senior appearance during his time at Stamford Bridge.

He has spent the majority of his career out on loan with the likes of Solihull Moors, Woking, Yeovil, Ross County, Accrington and Hull.

With a return to Chelsea off the cards, he is set to make the first permanent move of his career this summer.

Baxter made 12 appearances for Hull in all competitions this season, keeping one clean sheet and conceding 21 goals in the process.

In other news, Joao Felix heads out of Chelsea for good