Round-up: Confusion as Reid is caught in Premiership tug of war

Nottingham Forest have accepted Southampton's bid of £3 million plus two players for their coveted Republic Of Ireland midfielder, Andy Reid, but a bid from Tottenham Hotspur remains on the table and the London club could be the player's eventual destination, the Saints manager, Harry Redknapp, believes.

Nottingham Forest have accepted Southampton's bid of £3 million plus two players for their coveted Republic Of Ireland midfielder, Andy Reid, but a bid from Tottenham Hotspur remains on the table and the London club could be the player's eventual destination, the Saints manager, Harry Redknapp, believes.

"The chairman [Rupert Lowe] has agreed terms with Nottingham Forest, but I don't think the lad will be coming here," Redknapp said. "I think Tottenham will be interested, and he will end up there."

And Reid could find another desirable Coca-Cola Championship property, Tom Huddleston of Derby County, there along with Milan's 23-year-old Argentinian defender, Fabricio Coloccini.

"I promised Andy that should we receive an offer that was right for Nottingham Forest we would allow him the opportunity to fulfil his ambition of playing in the Premier League," the club's chairman, Nigel Doughty, told their website when confirming Southampton's bid.

As part of the deal, two Saints players, striker Brett Ormerod and defender, Darren Kenton, would swap Southampton's fight against relegation from the Premiership for Forest's similar plight in the Championship. Spurs have also long admired Reid, 22, although their bid had not matched Forest's valuation.

"Southampton and Nottingham Forest have agreed a deal whereby we'll get some money and two players in return for Andy Reid," Gary Megson, the Forest manager, clarified. "We're happy with that, Southampton are happy with that and now it's up to Andy himself and the other players involved. Tottenham Hotspur have no agreement with Nottingham Forest and therefore they cannot speak to Andy."

Spurs are to sign midfielder Huddleston from the Rams for £1m and loan him back for the rest of the season.

In Championship action, Ken Bates made his first appearance at a Leeds United match since saving the club from administration by buying it for £10m, but he was no talisman for the Yorkshire side when a Guy Butters header nine minutes from time earned Brighton a 1-1 draw. Leeds had taken the lead two minutes before half-time thanks to Clark Carlisle's third goal for the club, and in the volatile finish Brighton's Charlie Oatway was sent off.

"We got ourselves in a position to win the game and it's disappointing that we didn't," Sam Ellis, the Leeds assistant manager, said. "It has happened on several occasions this season, and it's something that we need to address. We should be able to win games. It's possibly a mental problem that we need to look at."

In League One, the leaders Luton Town were held to a 1-1 draw by third-placed Tranmere Rovers at Kenilworth Road. Eugene Dadi got the visitors off to a flying start with a fifth-minute goal but Kevin Nicholls levelled from the spot when Steve Howard won the Hatters a second-half penalty.

Paul Merson revised his decision to resign as Walsall manager after their 5-0 defeat by Colchester United in midweek, and will have been delighted by the Saddlers' courage as they came back from 2-0 and 3-1 down at home to Huddersfield Town to win 4-3, Matt Fryatt netting a hat-trick after Merson had scored Walsall's first.

At the bottom, Stockport County lost 3-0 at Swindon Town, all three goals coming in a four-minute burst just after the hour mark.

Swansea City moved up to second in League Two, a point behind the leaders, when Lee Trundle scored twice in the 3-0 defeat of Chester City.

In the demotion duel at the Abbey Stadium, Cambridge United, bottom of the League, suffered a debilitating 3-1 reverse against the side just above them, Kidderminster. Cambridge led 1-0 when, in the 25th minute, the visitors had Tom Bennett sent. But still Cambridge could not defend the lead and Chris Beardsley, John Mullins and Gary Birch scored to earn Harriers' win.