Reading are set to beat Ipswich Town to the signing of Wolves striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, according to reports in the West Midlands.

It’s understood that the Blues has been in discussions with their Championship rivals about the prospect of a loan move, with view to a permanent switch, for the Icelandic forward.

However, Jaap Stam’s Reading – who lost in the Play-Off Final back in May – have swooped to try and buy the 25-year-old outright, according to the Wolverhampton Express & Star.

Missing out on the hard-working front man would be a major blow to Town, with Mick McCarthy having identified him as the perfect replacement for Brett Pitman. The latter is set to complete his move to League One side Portsmouth later today after the South Coast club accidentally leaked news of a three-year deal on their website late last night.

Town will be left with just three senior strikers in the form of summer signing Joe Garner, Freddie Sears and David McGoldrick, with Leon Best having been released and Kieffer Moore having joined League One side Rotherham on loan.

McCarthy has often been left frustrated in his attempts to sign front men ever since Daryl Murphy made his £3m move to Newcastle late in the August transfer window of 2016.

There were scrambled attempts to sign Conor Washington (QPR) on summer deadline day, a £1.5m bid for Preston’s Jordan Hugill was knocked back by Preston in January, while a year-long pursuit of Marley Watkins ended with the Barnsley forward recently joining Town’s rivals Norwich City on a Bosman free transfer.

Town then tried to sign Rotherham striker Danny Ward, offering an attractive £2m plus players package, but the striker opted to be reunited with his former boss Neil Warnock at Cardiff City.

Most recently, the Blues have been linked with John Marquis. The 25-year-old scored 26 goals to help fire Doncaster Rovers to League Two promotion last season and has turned down a new deal at the Keepmoat Stadium, though boss Darren Ferguson is still hopeful that situation will be resolved. McCarthy remained tight-lipped when quizzed about that speculation.