Former Reading stars to grace Wembley Stadium turf over play-off weekend

Three former Reading stars are in a position to grace the iconic Wembley Stadium turf this weekend as the League One and League Two play-offs come to a close.

Rivals Oxford United are facing Bolton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon to earn the right to walk out in the Championship next season, while Crawley Town head to the national stadium for the first time ever to battle Crewe Alexandra for promotion into League One.

All three former Reading players involved in the end-of-season play-offs have made it through to the final, with one having featured for the Royals under the famous arch seven years ago.

James Henry, Oxford United

A veteran with over 600 career appearances under his belt, the 34-year-old rose through the ranks with Reading in the early 2000s and scored four goals in 18 appearances for his hometown club.

Struggling to hold down a regular spot, with the Royals regularly challenging in and around the Premier League at the time, the midfielder made his name with Millwall and Wolves.

A third-tier promotion expert, having been promoted with Wolves and Bolton a decade ago, Henry has been the wise head in the Oxford dressing room having racked up more than 250 appearances for the Us.

Henry has endured two failed play-off campaigns with Reading's arch-rivals but will look to go one better this time around and take Oxford back to the second tier for the first time since 1999.

Beating Peterborough United 2-1 over two legs in the semi-final, Henry failed to even make the squad for either fixture.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, Bolton Wanderers

Icelander Bodvarsson was brought in to help fire Reading to the Premier League, with the Royals narrowly missing out the year before under Jaap Stam.

56 appearances and 17 goals later, Bodvarsson finished no higher than 19th with the club and departed to little fanfare for Millwall in 2019.

Just seven goals in three years at the Den followed, with a reputation as a loveable player but certainly not a prolific one.

Dropping down to League One after leaving South London, Bodvarsson has plundered a quarter of a century of goals for the Trotters and his double figures this season- the first time he has done so since his debut season for Reading (2017/18).

The Icelander struggled with a calf injury at the back end of the season, playing just twice since scoring a brace against Reading on Easter Monday.

Liam Kelly, Crawley Town

Breaking through the ranks into the first team under Stam, the diminutive midfielder impressed supporters with his passing range and eye for a long-range goal.

A regular for a few seasons as Dai Yongge's spending spree picked up, Kelly made an eye-catching move to Feyenoord in 2019 after almost a century of Reading appearances.

Temporarily linking back up with Stam in Rotterdam, the midfielder would make just two appearances for the Dutch giant before spending two seasons with Oxford United on loan.

Dropping down further and into League Two following his release in Holland, Kelly proved popular at Rochdale but departed after their relegation from the Football League.

In his debut campaign for Crawley, and hoping to have more success in the play-offs than his Reading experience in 2017, the 28-year-old has contributed four goals and nine assists for the Red Devils.

Thrashing MK Dons 8-1 over two legs, Kelly featured in both matches and scored the first goal of the tie inside 15 minutes of leg one.