Reading boss Paul Ince confirmed that the club would need to sell players in order to bring anyone else in during the January transfer window.

Due to the transfer embargo, the Royals are limited to a squad of 25, which they have filled so far.

They also have five loans, the maximum you can have in any given matchday squad.

Speaking on the prospect of the upcoming transfer window, a chance for teams to strengthen their sides ahead of the final half of the season, Ince admitted his hands are tied.

Reading Chronicle:

"One has to go," he said. "We have a quota. Liam Moore is back, and it will be like having a new player. He comes in and makes it 25 because John Clarke is out with knee ligaments, so that frees up a place for Liam Moore to come in. After that, you’re looking at selling someone. Who are you going to sell? We’ve got who we’ve got. I’m not going to sell Thomas or Lucas.

"People will come in for our players, you can rest assured of that, but until someone comes and says they want to go then we have our quota, and we can’t move from that."

There is potential wiggle room with Andy Carroll and Amadou Mbengue, both of which are out of contract in January.

Reading Chronicle:

Ince is keen to keep both, who have become regulars in the first spell of the season, but is still unsure on what the future holds.

"AC [Andy Carroll] has been great for us, and it is important to keep him at the club," he stated. "I said that to Mark [Bowen] so it is a case of speaking to his agent and trying to get something tied down. The same with Amadou, someone who’s done exceptionally well for a young kid from Metz.

"Get those two signed up then great, if we can’t then that leaves two more spaces to bring someone else in. Let’s see where it takes us. We have to be prepared for that, someone could come in for AC and all of a sudden, we have to bring someone in straight away. We are actively looking but hopefully we don’t want to lose people."