FOOTBALL: Rumours Fact and fiction from the Sunday papers

They just will not leave him alone... Matt le Tissier, despite his "I'm going nowhere" pledges, is being courted again, according to the News of the World, which claims that Jack Walker has "authorised his struggling champions to break the bank". They are ready to pay pounds 10m, the story goes - and would accept the same sum to do the unthinkable and sell Alan Shearer.

The People, meanwhile, says that there is dressing-room friction between Shearer and Chris Sutton, his erstwhile regular partner, after Shearer revealed he prefers to play alongside Mike Newell. There could be still more competition for places at Ewood, the report suggests, with Ray Harford apparently lining up moves for Crewe's Gareth Whalley, Southampton's Neil Heaney, and Liverpool's Mark Kennedy, whose pounds 2.5m move from Millwall to Anfield seems to have taken him down a cul-de-sac.

Another intriguing possibility thrown up by the paper - a move to Bayern Munich for Teddy Sheringham to recreate his partnership with Jurgen Klinsmann.

The Mail on Sunday is adamant that Alan Ball is ready to offload some of his Manchester City players - with the England Under-21 international Garry Flitcroft on offer for pounds 4m.