Reading captain Graham Murty is confident good friend Nicky Shorey will stay with the club.
The Scottish fullback told the Independent on Sunday: "I'm desperate for him to stay here, I really am, because he's one of our best attacking options, and a fantastic defender. Will he stay? Yes."
"Yeah, because I'm his mate. We have a natter about what he wants to do. Obviously, he wants to go right to the top. And that means playing for England. But if he wants to play every time England play, does he have to move?
"Well, he'll have to decide that for himself. I can only say that we'll back him whatever he does, because he's continued to be fantastic for us even though his head has been turned a bit. If he leaves, we'll shake him by the hand, pat him on the back - and be ready to kick him when he comes back..."
Asked if Shorey believes there's a lack of ambition in the market from manager Steve Coppell, Murty reasoned: "If [Coppell] went out and paid someone £60,000 a week to play for Reading, it would shake the whole foundations of the place. And would that prove to Nicky Shorey that the club was ambitious? I'm not sure it would. To be honest, I think it might just change the dynamic in the changing room. I think the manager's very careful about that kind of thing."
