Nicky Shorey has said that Reading manager Brian McDermott did not have to do much to convince him to rejoin the club.
The 31-year-old, who was released by West Bromwich Albion in May, completed a free-transfer switch to Royals earlier today.
He told the club's official website: "I spoke to Bri on the phone and he made it clear that he wanted me to come back, which is always nice, and I made it clear that I was more than happy to do that.
"It was an easy conversation to have. Most of the summer I was waiting and I had other clubs interested so it's been a long summer for me, thinking where I was going to end up. But as soon as Brian made the call to me, my mind was made up.
"I spoke to another couple of managers and I've got a lot of respect for them and I'm sure I would've been happy going to one of those clubs, but the pull that Reading had, to work with Brian especially and [director of football] Nicky Hammond again and the people at the club, I didn't feel I could turn it down, and being in the Premier League as well."
Shorey originally joined the Berkshire club in February 2001 and went on to make 296 appearances for the Royals before leaving to join Aston Villa in August 2008.
Robert Summerscales
