Shearer hoping Shepherd can be saviour of Toon

Jun 14 2009 by Neil Farrington, Sunday Sun

ALAN SHEARER is refusing to walk away from Newcastle United – in the hope of Freddy Shepherd buying the club.

Although deeply frustrated after THREE WEEKS waiting to be offered the Magpies’ manager’s job full time, Shearer is defying talk last weekend that he would abandon the idea.

But the former United captain, pictured left, is pinning his hopes on Shepherd making progress in his takeover bid to break the overall deadlock.

That is despite fresh talk of a major rival bid for Newcastle being imminent from an as-yet unknown foreign group.

As the Sunday Sun revealed a week ago, Shepherd, main picture, has begun the exhaustive process of due diligence – going through Newcastle’s books – in his attempt to buy out Mike Ashley.

I can now also confirm that Shepherd’s move is an all-Geordie affair, with the former United chairman, his brother Bruce and son Kenneth working to raise their own finance.

And, perhaps most significantly, Shearer – who could return to his contract as a BBC pundit at any time – favours a Shepherd takeover above any of the other deals so far mooted for the Magpies.

Having brushed off the talk of him quitting Toon last week, Shearer met the Shepherds on Tuesday for talks which left the one-time England skipper in a positive mood.

A source close to the discussions confirmed that Shearer is warm on the idea of working under his former chairman again, saying: “Alan Shearer is very interested in what the Shepherd camp have to say.