DANNY Loader had a weekend to remember after signing his first professional contract with Reading FC before helping himself to four goals in a pre-season friendly.

The 16-year-old striker led the line with distinction as Royals put QPR to the sword in back-to-back clashes at Hogwood Park on Saturday.

Jaap Stam sent out a mixture of first-team players and youngsters for the games and saw his sides win the opener 2-1 and the next 5-2 thanks to some impressive attacking football.

It was a day Loader is unlikely to forget in a hurry either after he was handed his first professional deal by the club.

The England Under 17 international will put pen to paper when he celebrates his 17th birthday on August 28.

Danny Loader shakes on his first professional deal with U18s manager, David Dodds.

Loader showed rapid improvement last season when he netted five times in 15 games for Reading's U18 Academy side.

He also made 10 appearances for the U23s in Premier League 2 and the Checkatrade Trophy and was one of only three players from outside the Premier League to earn an England call-up for the European U17 Championships in Croatia earlier this summer.

Loader is the latest Royals youngster to turn professional along with the likes of goalkeeper George Legg and he will continue to train with Stam's first-team squad during pre-season.

Stam's men were simply too strong for QPR in the behind-closed-doors friendlies on Saturday.

All the goals in the first game came in the opening 45 minutes with Roy Beerens and Ryan East putting Reading 2-0 up before Conor Washington pulled one back from the penalty spot.

Stam used 22 players on that occasion including fit-again midfielder Stephen Quinn who is looking to put last season's injury woes behind him.

Reading Chronicle:

Jaap Stam looks on from the Hogwood Park touchline.

The second friendly was all about the clinical finishing of teenager Loader whose four goals included a perfect hat-trick of right and left foot strikes along with a header.

The talented youngster had scored three times before the break to put a Reading side in a commanding position.

He opened his account with a smart left-footed finish having been put through by Liam Kelly.

Royals doubled their lead with a quarter of an hour gone, this time Romania international Adrian Popa netting from a difficult angle.

Goal number three soon arrived when Loader glanced a Chris Gunter cross past Rangers keeper Alex Smithies.

Reading Chronicle:

Action from Reading's 2-1 win over QPR on Saturday.

The red-hot Reading striker completed his hat-trick shortly before the interval when he converted from six yards after Popa had nicely picked him out.

There was a still time left for Loader to notch a fourth midway through the second half with a fine finish from the edge of the box to give Royals a 5-0 lead.

A flurry of substitutions saw a number of younger players replace their more senior counterparts before Rangers finally got some reward for their efforts with late goals from Reece Grego-Cox and Charlie Owens.

But it failed to take the gloss off an excellent afternoon's work by the Royals who used 34 players in total across the two friendly games.

Stam will now take his squad to Holland on Wednesday for a 10-day tour including four more friendly matches.

Game 1, Reading starting XI: Legg, Frost, Blackett, Cooper, Moore, Van den Berg, East, Quinn, Barrett, Beerens, Smith. Subs: Ward (46), Howe, Medford-Smith, Andresson, Osho, Coleman, Wieser, Green, Holsgrove, Rollinson, Davis (all 70).

Game 2, Reading starting XI: Jaakkola, Gunter, Richards, Ilori, McShane, Kelly, Evans, Rinomhota, Popa, Clement, Loader. Subs: Sheppard (46), Medford-Smith, Andresson, Osho, Coleman, Wieser, Nolan, Rollinson, Holsgrove, Davis (all 70).