Leyton Orient & Reading FC set for goalkeeper transfer battle - he's kept 15 clean sheets in 2024/25 | OneFootball

The League One pair are on the lookout for a new shot-stopper.

Leyton Orient and Reading FC have reportedly registered their interest in Livingston goalkeeper Jerome Prior.

In the regular season, the O's and the Royals battled it out for the final play-off position.

They went into the final day level on points. Orient had the advantage on goal difference and, despite the euphoria felt by Reading supporters on the day due to the announcement of the agreed takeover of the club, Richie Wellens' team absorbed the pressure and opened up a three-point gap to their rivals.

They stormed to a 4-1 win over Huddersfield Town while Reading succumbed to a 4-2 defeat at home to Barnsley.

Orient, one of the form sides of the division towards the end of the term, only needed to match the result that Noel Hunt's players managed at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, but the combination of the two results meant that the London-based club made it into the play-offs relatively comfortably.

Leyton Orient and Reading set to battle for Livingston stopper Jerome Prior

Now the two teams are set to do battle again, this time in the transfer market, as they both want to sign the same goalkeeper.

Livingston's French shot-stopper, Jerome, has caught their eyes, according to the Daily Record (May 8, 10:14am), thanks to an impressive season in the Scottish Championship.

Jerome has kept 15 clean sheets for Livi in 33 league appearances this season. They ended the campaign in second place, three points behind Falkirk, and were spearheaded by their defence which was the best in the league, only conceding 27 times in 36 matches.

The 29-year-old, who has only been with the Scottish side since the start of the season, is set to become a free agent this summer. However, if they were to win promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs, then they could extend his deal by a further year, as per the Daily Record.

Should Prior's contract get extended, Reading will be able to buy him if they want to as their transfer ban has recently been lifted by the EFL after they finally filed their accounts for the 2023-24 season.

Leyton Orient's play-off status may hurt their chances of landing Jerome Prior

The play-offs put everything on hold. It's not like in the NBA where more than half of the teams make it, so there's an inbuilt expectation that you will play more games than originally scheduled.

For clubs like Orient, who early in the season looked like they might be in a relegation battle, they probably wouldn't have expected to be in this position.

As a result, all the planning that they would have done for the upcoming transfer window will now be on hold, because it's hard to act on it when you don't know which division you're going to be in until, potentially, the end of May.

This could give Reading a huge advantage in their pursuit of Jerome. They will be hoping that Livingston lose out to either Ayr United or Partick Thistle in their post-season contest, while also hoping that Orient end up playing at Wembley on the 25th.