Reading boss Noel Hunt has praised the club's youth stars following their performances in the Premier League International Cup.

Semi-finalists in the competition back in 2019, European giants such as Ajax, Monaco and Valencia travelled to Berkshire to face the Academy side following their sixth-placed finish in PL2 last season.

Hunt himself was in charge for all-but-one of these fixtures, not in charge of Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Valencia following his appointment as first-team manager in December.

While the young Royals did not progress into the knockout phase, memories remain such as beating Ajax in matchday one and performing competitively against a strong Monaco outfit.

"They did great," Hunt said ahead of tomorrow's trip to Leyton Orient. "It is great see our Academy involved in these competitions. It is a prestigious competition in terms of it being the top you can get to. To have European competition at your doorstep and to see Valencia and Ajax come to us and for us to put on the performance we did. We were very good value for the draw and maybe could have nicked it at the end.

"It is a really important competition for our players, to play foreign teams and have a sense of pride of where we are, where we came from and what we are. It speaks volumes for the Academy and what goes on day-in and day-out."

The club are yet to confirm Hunt's replacement with the Under-21s, his assistant Peter Scott the obvious candidate and at the helm on Tuesday.

Similarly, the Under-18s are in need of a permanent appointment following Mikele Leigertwood's move into the first-team set-up.

"As far as I’m aware Gilksey is on top of all that and going through the processes because of the Academy status and certain hurdles that need putting in place before appointing someone.

"It is important that we tick the boxes and do everything right, which we always do. I’m sure it’s moving along in the right direction."