Norwich City legend Mark Bowen has left Reading after the appointment of a new manager, despite recent rumours that he would return to his role as sporting director.
Having initially joined the Royals as a technical consultant in March 2019 the Welshman and was appointed sporting director at the start of last season, only to take over as manager in October.
The 56-year-old, who made 399 appearances for Norwich between 1987 and 1996, steered the Berkshire club to mid-table safety in the Championship but turned down a new role in a restructure and left as Veljko Paunovic was confirmed as manager on Saturday.
The former Atletico Madrid midfielder previously won the Under-20 World Cup with Serbia in 2015 and then had four years in charge of Major League Soccer franchise Chicago Fire in the US.
In a statement Reading owner Dai Yongge said: “I would like to thank Mark for the hard work he put in as manager and the commitment he showed to our first team affairs before, during and after football’s lockdown situation.
“I would like to wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Bowen’s departure follows the recent exit of the club’s chief executive, Nigel Howe, with Reading having posted a £40million loss in their financial results for the 2018-19 year when they were published in April.
The former Norwich full-back, who sits ninth in the club’s all-time appearances list, was previously assistant to Mark Hughes with Wales and at clubs including Birmingham, Blackburn, and QPR.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here