From £1.2m striker to considering life on the dole - what's gone wrong for former Portsmouth, Sunderland, Sheffield United and Coventry star Marc McNulty?

The 29-year-old was the subject of a £1.2m move to the Royals following a standout season with Coventry, where he scored 28 goals in 52 appearances.

Yet, he failed to hit the ground running in the Championship - netting just once in 15 games following his big-money transfer.

Just six months into his Reading stay, the former Scottish international began the first of his eventual five loan spells away from the Madejski Stadium.

He joined Hibs in January 2019 and had a successful spell at Easter Road as he bagged eight goals in 17 outings.

But that was as good as it was going to get for the striker, who would then have two disappointing loan moves at Sunderland and Hibs the following season.

McNulty was arrested in September 2020 by police looking ‘probing allegations into match fixing in football’, but was later released without charge.

He’s now into his second spell at Dundee United, where he’s bagged eight goals in 50 appearances since his arrival in October 2020.

His four-year contract at Reading is set to come to an end in the summer – and McNulty revealed he would rather go on the dole than return to Berkshire.

He said: ‘For me, with everything I have seen there over the years I’m just glad it’s going to be over and I don’t have to go back down there.

‘I would probably be happy to be unemployed than go through that again.

‘I will be delighted when it’s up and can try to go somewhere I am valued and wanted.’

The 29-year-old joined Pompey on loan from Sheffield United in November 2015 and would go on to end the campaign as the Blues’ top scorer – and become a big hit with fans.

He found the net on 12 occasions, including the memorable opener in the play-off semi-final first-leg against Plymouth.

McNulty has since totalled 23 goals in 114 games for four different clubs during his four years at Reading – five less than he achieved in his standout campaign in 2017-18.

But with his troublesome time set to come to an end, the Scot believes he still has a lot to give – and even revealed in 2018 he would love to return to the Blues.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can support our local team of expert Pompey writers by subscribing here for all the latest news from Fratton Park for 9p a day, thanks to our 30%-off transfer window deal.