Reading defender Harlee Dean has described the off-field issues with Dai Yongge as 'a different kettle of fish' when appearing on a Birmingham City fan podcast.

The 32-year-old made his first appearance of 2024 off the bench in Saturday's 4-0 win over Cambridge United, his 16th appearance of the season.

Joining in the summer, the former Brentford captain had been with Championship Birmingham City for a turbulent six years.

Brought in under Harry Redknapp, Blues were hit with a nine-point deduction and EFL restrictions for breaching Profit and Sustainability regulations. They have finished in the bottom half every year since 2016/17.

Only with the Royals for seven months, the club have been docked six points so far this season, 18 in three years, and have been facing a monthly battle to pay wages after owner Yongge pulled the plug on funding while looking to sell the club.

"The actual owner has invested a lot of money into the club, he’s built a training ground for £70-£80m and a playing squad over the last two or three seasons with the budget they’ve had," Dean told the Tilton Talk Podcast. "I know it doesn’t look good on him right now, and this is just my opinion, he must have gone skint or something because I don’t think you’d invest that much money and care about something- you should see the training ground, it’s incredible- and want to see it burnt to the ground. I experienced it at Blues but that was nothing compared to this at Reading now, it’s a different kettle of fish."