Reading: Nottingham Forest's Simon Cox & Jamie Mackie join

Cox's nine appearances in his first spell with Reading all came off the bench

Reading have signed Nottingham Forest forwards Simon Cox and Jamie Mackie.

Cox, 27, has returned to his former club for an undisclosed fee, having signed a two-year deal, while Mackie, 28, joins on a season-long loan.

The pair are the first two arrivals since a new Thai consortium were recently unveiled as the prospective new owners of the Championship club.

Meanwhile, former QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, 29, is also close to joining Reading after undergoing a medical.

Ferdinand spent last season in Turkey with Antalyaspor after being released by Harry Redknapp's side.

After the Royals earned promotion to the Premier League in 2006, Cox had loan spells at Brentford, Northampton Town and Swindon, before joining West Brom for £1.5m in January 2008.

A £2m switch to Forest followed in August 2012 where he made 82 appearances, scoring 14 goals.

"I'm very lucky to have played once for this football club and signing the second time feels just as good," said Republic of Ireland international Cox.

"I still know a lot of the players here so bedding in shouldn't be too hard for me. I'm delighted to be here and I can't wait to get started again."

Adkins has followed the career of Cox for several years and was delighted to finally get his man.

"He is a good age, knows this football club and has a vast amount of experience," Adkins told BBC Radio Berkshire.

"He is hungry, I've had a good conversation with him and I'm delighted he'll be with us."

Mackie, who began his career at Wimbledon before going on to play for MK Dons, joined Forest from QPR last summer.

He has also had permanent spells at Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle.