Hal Robson-Kanu

Thomas Henry Alex "Hal" Robson-Kanu (born 21 May 1989) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward.

After graduating from the academy in 2007 he spent time on loan at Southend United and Swindon Town before returning to Reading and making his first team debut in 2009.

After graduating from the Academy he signed his first professional contract in July 2007, penning a two-year deal with the club.

The 2007 Peace Cup in South Korea saw Robson-Kanu involved with the Reading senior team for the first time with appearances against River Plate and Shimizu S-Pulse.

Steve Coppell's policy of resting first-team players for cup matches saw Robson-Kanu selected on the bench for the first time on 5 January 2008 for the FA Cup third round tie against Tottenham Hotspur, though he remained an unused substitute.

Not in contention for a regular place in the Reading first team, Robson-Kanu's first experience of senior football came on 30 January 2008 when he joined Southend United on loan until the end of the season.

He made his debut three days later as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 draw away at Leyton Orient and scored his first career goal against Nottingham Forest.

He struck twice more in the next two games against Huddersfield Town and Swansea City and returned to Reading with three goals in eight appearances.

Robson-Kanu was again involved in the first team during the 2008–09 pre-season, scoring a goal in a 9–0 win over Didcot Town in July.

He re-joined Southend on a month's loan on 21 August 2008 and after one goal in six appearances extended his spell for a second month.

He returned to Reading on 15 November after his three-month spell came to an end having made 15 appearances, scoring twice, during his second spell at the club.

After returning to Reading he was among the substitutes for the FA Cup third round tie against Cardiff City on 3 January 2009.

He would again have to wait to make his debut though, remaining on the bench as Cardiff won the match.

On 26 January 2009 he joined Swindon Town on a one-month loan which, after six games, was extended for a further month.

The 2009–10 season saw Robson-Kanu's former Academy boss Brendan Rodgers take over as Reading manager.

He scored five goals during pre-season, including a hat-trick against Jonsereds IF in just 28 minutes during the first game of the tour of Sweden.

Robson-Kanu finally made his competitive debut for Reading starting on the right wing in a 0–0 draw with Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the season.

He was used mainly as a substitute during his first season, starting just four times in 18 appearances.

The following season saw Robson-Kanu establish himself in the first team setup.

In 2010, he switched allegiance to Wales, the country of his grandmother, playing for the under-21 side before his debut for the senior team against Croatia on 23 May that year.

He scored his first Reading goal in the League Cup against Northampton Town on 24 August 2010, and followed it with his first league goal in a 3–0 win against Barnsley a month later, having earlier set-up Jimmy Kébé for the second.

He continued to feature regularly and finished the season in good goalscoring form, netting four times from March onwards including the winner in a 2–1 wins over Preston North End and Derby County as Reading finished in the play-off positions.

He came on as a late substitute in the 4–2 play-off final defeat to Swansea but had no time to influence the game and finished the season with six goals in 34 appearances.

Limited to mainly substitute appearances during his first season, he became an important member of the squad appearing regularly during the 2011–12 Championship winning campaign.

Midway through his spell at Swindon, having impressed on loan at the club as well with Southend previously, he signed a new contract with Reading until 2011.

He cemented a regular place in the Swindon team and started in all 20 of his appearances for the club before returning to Reading after three months.

At the conclusion of his spell Swindon boss Danny Wilson hailed Robson-Kanu and fellow loanee Gordon Greer for their "fantastic impression" which helped the club pull away from relegation.

After the sale of Shane Long in August 2011, Robson-Kanu was played as a forward by Brian McDermott during some of the pre-season, a position he was familiar with from his Academy years.

He struck twice playing up front in the warm-up fixtures and began the season in good goalscoring form with two in the first four games against Leicester City and Barnsley.

He made his Premier League debut in 2012 and went on to score 30 goals in 228 games for the club before his release in 2016.

He then signed for West Bromwich Albion.

After five years, Robson-Kanu was released by the club in May 2021.

At international level Robson-Kanu initially represented the country of his birth, England, at under-19 and under-20 level.

His contract expired at the end of the season and despite interest from other Championship clubs including Millwall and Portsmouth, he signed a new three-year contract with Reading in July keeping him with the club until 2014.

Although he initially played primarily on the wing, he was used as a forward during Wales' run to the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016.

Robson-Kanu started his career as a schoolboy at Arsenal but was released at 15 and joined Reading.

Robson-Kanu was selected to represent Wales at UEFA Euro 2016, where they made the semi-finals, with Robson-Kanu notably scoring against Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Born in Acton, London, Robson-Kanu began his career at Arsenal as a schoolboy aged 10.

He went on to play at Acton Ealing Whistlers for a number of seasons.

He was released by the club at 15 and joined Reading after speaking to then Academy manager Brendan Rodgers.