The Royals fought off competition from four other Championship clubs to seal the Chelsea youngster, who will inherit the number 14 shirt.

The 20-year-old made just four appearances on loan at Burnley earlier this season but is ready to go straight into competitive action, with Clarke considering starting him against Cardiff City in the FA Cup on Saturday (3pm).

"He's fit and ready," said the Reading boss. "He didn't play much at Burnley but he was available.

"He can play central defender and central midfield, which is where he's played more often than not when out on loan. If you speak to people at Chelsea then they see him as a central defender long-term

"I knew about him as a youngster at Chelsea. He burst on the scene at Watford and should have got promotion.

"His progress hasn't been as spectacular since but he's been steady and the Reading fans will enjoy seeing Nathaniel play as he'll bring a lot to the club."

It had looked like Chalobah would be heading to France but his loan move to Bordeaux fell through due to FIFA's Three-Club rule, and Clarke swooped in to get his man.

"I had a conversation last week with someone who intimated to me that his move to Bordeaux was going to fall through," he added. "I heard that Chelsea were willing to let him out on loan so I put my hat in the ring along with three or four other Championship clubs and luckily for us, Nathaniel decided to come here to try and move his career forward.

"I spoke to him and explained where I thought he was as a player and where he can get to. I feel being part of the squad here will help his development."

Chalobah is an exciting talent and many fans have questioned whether he'll slot into a midfield position, or a settled defence.

Reading have played a 4-4-2 formation for the majority of this season but Clarke admits that bringing Chalobah in will give him the freedom to change things around.

"Maybe I want three positions in central midfield," said Clarke. "I've said before, if a good player becomes available and I think he can improve the squad then it'd be silly not to bring him to Reading FC.

"What I like about him is he can play a number of positions in midfield. He can be a holding player, a box-to-box player so I think he'll bring good options to the squad.

"We have a good squad so to improve you have to bring quality players. I'd rather bring two or three top quality players rather than five or six who just fill a number."