Ferdinand was thought to have been close to concluding a deal with Southampton, whose manager Harry Redknapp is in the process of rebuilding Saints’ squad following the sale of James Beattie to Everton.

But Royals boss Steve Coppell has moved to bolster his strikeforce by signing the Acton-born forward, who has scored 198 league goals and five goals for England.

His glittering career has included spells at QPR, Tottenham, Newcastle, West Ham and Leicester.

Coppell told the club’s official website, www.readingfc.co.uk: “Les Ferdinand is a tremendous player, and I hope he will help boost our goalscoring capabilities and act as a catalyst for the whole team at this crucial time of the season.”

Chairman John Madejski insisted the signing of Ferdinand highlighted the ambition of the club, who have lost two of their last three games.

“I am highly delighted to welcome Les Ferdinand as a Reading player,” he added.

“He is without doubt one of the greatest English strikers of the last decade and his goalscoring record speaks for itself.

“This signing once again underlines our ambition to reach the top flight and the fact that Les has chosen Reading ahead of a number of other options, including Premiership clubs, is a clear illustration of how highly we are now regarded within the game.”