Reading forward Leroy Lita admitted that he 'sulked' after the club turned down a bid to join Aston Villa in 2007.

The forward joined for a club-record £1m in 2005 and scored 29 goals in two seasons as the Royals romped to the Championship title and finished eighth in the club's debut Premier League season.

Catching the eye after being named in the 2007 Under-21 European Championship Team of the Tournament, the forward admitted that he was looking to make the next step in his career.

Talking on the Under the Cosh podcast, with former EFL forwards Jon Parkin and Chris Brown, Lita admitted he 'sulked' when the club turned down an £8m move from Aston Villa.

"There were a few," he said. "I went to the Euros that year with the Under-21s and I was the only English player in the team of the tournament. I had a few clubs come in and Reding just turned everything down. I think they wanted £10m or something like that. I think the closest anyone got was [Aston] Villa and £8m. They said no. I was vexed.

"Reading offered me a new contract and I still had two years left. Villa is a big club and if you do well there you can go to another level. I went in the office straight away and he said ‘The club aren’t selling you and that’s that, just get your head down and get on with it.’ I sulked and sulked."

Scoring just twice in 18 appearances during the club's relegation campaign of 2007/08, and spending a period on loan at Charlton Athletic and Norwich City, he eventually left on a free transfer in 2009.

The 38-year-old went on to play professionally until 2018, and is still playing today for Nuneaton Borough.