GILLINGHAM have turned down a £500,000 bid for skipper Paul Smith from Division 2 promotion favourites Reading. The offer, made on Monday, was immediately rejected by chairman Paul Scally.

It is the second time Reading have tempted Gillingham to part with Smith. They first tried at the start of the season when the midfielder was negotiating a new four-year deal which he subsequently signed.

Reading manager Alan Pardew wants to make Smith the cornerstone of his side next season in Division 1 and may return with an improved offer.

Backed by Reading owner John Madejski, whose £210 million fortune makes him the 143rd richest man in Britain, Pardew is determined to take Reading, with their £37 million stadium, into the Premier League.

But Gillingham are unlikely to part with their captain and most influential midfielder. Smith, the club's Player of the Year, he is on course to equal the feats of the late John Simpson and Dave Shipperley in winning back-to-back Player of the Year awards.