The Royals will welcome back frontman Leroy Lita after the completion of his three-month loan spell with fellow Championship side Norwich City.

The striker, who turned 24 on Sunday, played 16 games for Glenn Roeder's side and scored seven goals, including a hat-trick against League leaders Wolves.

Meanwhile, Alex Pearce has agreed to extend his loan with Southampton until 30th January. The centre half's previous deal expired yesterday, and he has made 6(+3) appearances for Jan Poortvliet's men.

Alan Bennett's deal with Brentford is due to expire this week, and Bees boss Andy Scott has already indicated he would like to keep him at Griffin Park for longer.

Academy forward Kelvin Bossman last week joined Basingstoke Town on work experience, and he played in their 1-0 home win over Eastleigh on Boxing Day.

Our youngsters Ross Kitteridge and Tom Hateley also played for 'Stoke, and Tom's deal is now due to end.

Meanwhile, Ben Hamer kept another clean sheet for Brentford this weekend and Daniel Spence played his ninth game for Woking in a 1-1 draw at Wrexham.

Scott Davies scored for Aldershot on Boxing Day, and Emerse Fae will soon join Nice permanently.