Reading, one of Shaun Goater’s former teams, are rumoured to be interested in Nahki Wells.

As Wells battles to recover from a tight hamstring in time to face Bristol City on Saturday, his future at Bradford City remains the main talking point, with Reading the latest of several clubs reported to be keeping tabs on the striker during the January transfer window.

Latest reports linking Nottingham Forest with the player have proved to be unfounded, while other Sky Bet Championship clubs said to be interested in the 23-year-old include Queens Park Rangers, Huddersfield Town and Leeds United.

While Huddersfield are the odds-on favourites to land Wells in this window, according to Sky Bet, the bookmaker, QPR are anxious to get Loic Remy off their wage bill, potentially with a view to signing the Bermuda star.

Remy, the France striker who is on a season-long loan at Newcastle United and cost QPR £8 million from Marseilles in August 2010, but the West London club have placed a £16 million price tag on the 27-year-old, which would give them funds to bring in a new striker.

As well as Celtic, the Scottish champions, interest in Wells has also apparently come from Aston Villa, Stoke City and Sunderland, of the Barclays Premier League.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are in League One with Bradford, have ruled themselves out of the chase for Wells, although Kenny Jackett, their manager, has admitted that he inquired about the much admired Bermudian.

“We did inquire about Wells but his ambitions lie above League One,” Jacket said.

Phil Parkinson, the Bradford manager, said yesterday that it was important for Wells, who has refused talks over a contract extension, to remain focused on his role at the club.

“The most important thing for Nahki is getting back out there and playing as well as he can,” Parkinson told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus yesterday. “The rest takes care of itself.”

While Bradford battle to hold on to their key player, they are moving closer to offloading some fringe players to free up space in the budget to bring in new players.

As it stands, City’s player wage bill is bordering on the 60 per cent limit of total income permitted for League One clubs. So the onus is on departures during the present transfer window before they can look to make additions.

Parkinson has already stated that if Wells leaves, he would rather it be early in the transfer window rather than later to enable the club time to identify a replacement.

Reading, relegated from the Premier League last season, have seen their promotion push falter in the past few weeks, winning only one of their past six games and slipping to ninth in the Championship.