Joey Beauchamp has been unable to make up his mind whether to stay at Oxford United or join rivals Reading.

But the 29-year-old midfielder could be in for a shock when he returns to the Manor Ground from his holiday in Cyprus - because he could find the offer has been withdrawn.

Manager Denis Smith said: "Joey has been to see me every day this week and we were expecting him to sign, but I have just had a conversation with him on the phone and he is going to think it over while he is on holiday.

"After spending all of this week and last week talking to him, I thought everything was sorted out. But I've told him the offer might not still be there when he comes back. What this does is release a bit of money for me, as it does with the other players who have turned down their offers - Steve Davis, Rob Folland and Jamie Cook. It's just that in Joey's case, it releases the most money for me. "Now I've got to get my life sorted out, by getting the players in I want. And at the end of this week, I've got the freedom to do what I want."

Smith does not believe that Davis, Cook or Folland have received offers from other clubs, but they want better deals from Oxford, and they are unlikely to get them, he says.