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Both The Sun and The Independant are this morning reporting that Pardew, who has been with the club since 1999, is set to walk out on the Royals in order to take charge of West Ham.
Madejski and Co are said to have known for the past forty-eight hours that Pardew is preparing to do the dirty on them, allowing them time to put into action emergency plans to appoint a successor.
Wycombe's Lawrie Sanchez, a Reading legend in his playing days, is reportedly being lined-up as Pardew's replacement.
Pards should be formally unveiled as the new West Ham manager on Monday, or the new Mark McGhee depending on the way that you look at it. Once the Royals have 'agreed' a compensation deal for severing Pardew from his contract the appointment will be a mere formality for the Upton Park side.
After a week of endless speculation, the situation looks set to finally come to it's head, with an outcome few would have predicted seven days ago. It seems that Alan Pardew really wasn't blue and white through and through as we had once suspected.
Lawrie Sanchez, a wonderful player in his playing days, has done a sterling job at Adam's Park since taking control of Wycombe back in February 1999. The highlight of his four-and-a-half tenure with the Choirboys was leading the unfancied Division Two side to an unlikely 2001 FA Cup Semi Final which captured the public's imagination.
However, with limited resources the 43-year-old has continued to keep the Buckinghamshire club stable, bobbing around the middle of the Second Division.
Sanchez spent seven years with the Biscuitmen between 1977 and 1984, notching up an impressive 262 appearances. But in 1984 he headed for Wimbledon. He spent nine years with the Dons but undoubtedly his finest hour came in May 1988. The thrice capped Northern Ireland international scored the only goal of the game as the Crazy Gang shocked the footballing world, defeating Liverpool 1-0 in the FA Cup Final.