Transfer News:Reading officials have denied that they have received a £5million (€5.3m) bid for Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Hunt from Premier League side Wigan.

Latics boss Steve Bruce is a big admirer of the Waterford native and the club are believed to have tabled a bid of £5m that triggers a release cause in Hunt’s contract.

Bruce has money to spend after selling Emile Heskey to Aston Villa for £3.5m just two days after the club sold midfielder Wilson Palacios to Spurs for a figure of around £14m.

Hunt has been vocal in his wishes to return to the Premier League, despite Reading manager Steve Coppell’s reluctance to lose one of his key players as the Royals try to win promotion back to the top flight.

Meanwhile, Bruce has made up for the loss of Heskey by signing Egypt striker Mido from Middlesbrough on loan until the end of the season.

“Mido brings vast experience to the table,” Bruce said. “He has a good Premier League pedigree having scored goals at Tottenham and Middlesbrough, and he has also played for some huge European clubs where he gained Champions League and Uefa Cup experience.

“He is still a relatively young man with potentially his best years ahead of him and hopefully he can produce a bit of magic for us during the rest of the season.”