Reports have suggested that former Wycombe Wanderers owner and chairman Rob Couhig is ‘leading the way’ to purchase League One rivals, Reading.

The American, who spent five years at Adams Park, officially sold his 90 per cent share of the club to the Kazakhstani-based Georgian billionaire, Mikheil Lomtadze in May.

The takeover meant that whilst Couhig’s nephew, Pete, and wife, Missy, left the Wanderers board, Rob moved from being owner to chairman – a role he took up at the start of last month.

But on June 8, it was announced that the lawyer would officially depart Wycombe, just over 30 days in his new role.

It has now been indicated that the lawyer is one of the main names interested in becoming the Royals’ new owner, just three months after he tried to buy Reading’s state-of-the-art Bearwood training facility.

The news led to a huge backlash from the Berkshire-based fans, who organised a peaceful protest outside Adams Park.

It occurred just six days after Wycombe had beaten Reading 2-1 at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

But now, there is a huge possibility that the 75-year-old could be the main man in charge at the former Premier League outfit, with the lawyer allegedly being spotted in Berkshire over the past few weeks.

The news was first broken by the Daily Star on June 11 which revealed that Couhig's party are one of several still keen on acquiring the club.

This includes a US-Saudi consortium put together by former QPR favourite Marc Bircham, but as reported by the Reading Chronicle, it is believed that Couhig 'leads the way' after lengthy negotiations.

Despite this, a deal to purchase the club is ‘some way off completion’.

What did Rob Couhig do at Wycombe?

It’s the summer of 2019 and the Chairboys are preparing for their second consecutive season in League One.

They had endured a tough first campaign back in the third tier following a six-year absence from the division.

This included a run of just three league wins in 17 matches from January 29, 2019, to May 4, 2019, but those three victories came in the final six fixtures and incredibly, those nine points effectively saved Wanderers’ season.

The Couhigs then arrived that summer with hope, optimism and positivity.

They helped sort out the club’s books, mingled with fans before, during and after home matches, and frequently posted updates on social media.

Their enthusiasm was matched by then-manager Gareth Ainsworth, so it was no surprise that Wanderers enjoyed one of their best starts to a league season ever, losing just four of their opening 23 games.

Fast forward a few months amid a pandemic, Wycombe achieved promotion to the Championship for the first time with 2-1 win over Oxford United in the 2020 League One play-off final.

A year later, the Chairboys were relegated back to the third tier but finished one point and one place from safety, despite many suggesting they would finish the season bottom of the table.

Another appearance at Wembley followed in 2022, but a strong Sunderland side swept Wycombe aside in that year’s play-off showpiece.

But with 83 points from 46 games, it was one of Wanderers’ best seasons in their history.

The 2022/23 year as a unique one for Wycombe as they said goodbye to manager Gareth Ainsworth.

He departed for Queens Park Rangers which ended a 14-year-stint at Adams Park, but the Couhigs were swift in bringing in club legend Matt Bloomfield as boss from Colchester United hours after Ainsworth had left.

And for the season that has just finished, Wycombe enjoyed another trip to Wembley, but lost in the EFL Trophy final to Peterborough United.

The Americans also introduced a development team which has produced several promising talents.

Some of those names include Anis Mehmeti who has since moved to Bristol City, Ali Al-Hamadi who is at Premier League Ipswich Town, and Chris Forino, who, at the time of writing, remains at Wycombe.

In short, each of the club’s league finishes from the last five years are some of the highest in their history, in which they have reached new levels of achievements.

This would not have happened if the Couhigs were not at Adams Park, as the money was just not there.   

And whilst Reading are a much bigger club than Wycombe, stability is what the Royals need after seven disastrous years with Dai Yongge.

This is what the Couhigs should bring in abundance.