Football: Liverpool buy pounds 2.3m Stewart

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR are hoping to spend some of the pounds 2.3m they have just received from Liverpool for the England midfielder, Paul Stewart, to buy Teddy Sheringham, the Nottingham Forest centre-forward.

Spurs see Sheringham, an England B international, as the man to replace Gary Lineker, who is off to Japan via Barcelona. Doug Livermore, the Tottenham coach, said: 'Sheringham will cost us around pounds 2m and we feel he can do a good job for Tottenham - if we are fortunate enough to sign him.' If Sheringham did go to Spurs, Forest might seek to replace him with Alan Smith, of Arsenal.

Stewart, who had arrived at White Hart Lane as a striker but has successfully converted to midfield, had a medical at Anfield yesterday before joining his new team- mates on tour in Norway. Stewart had wanted to return to his native North-west for family reasons.

Alan Shearer, the England forward, made his debut for Blackburn Rovers at Hibernian last night after his British-record pounds 3.4m transfer from Southampton was completed. Rovers lost 3-0.

Peter Reid spent yesterday trying to persuade Arthur Numan, the Dutch Under-21 midfielder, to leave Twente Enschede for Maine Road. After selling winger Michael Hughes to Strasbourg for pounds 450,000, Reid, the Manchester City player-manager, flew to the Netherlands to renew his pounds 1.5m offer. Numan has been told by the Dutch players' union that moving abroad will not help his international career.

Eight more clubs - Motherwell, Dunfermline, Partick Thistle, Kilmarnock, Airdrie, Dundee, St Mirren and Falkirk - have applied to join Scotland's proposed breakaway Super League.