Alan Shearer Despite Branfoot's claim to be "in the driving seat", "Saints" failed to include a "sell-on clause" in the contract. Shearer, less than a month off his 22nd birthday, was the most expensive player in British football. In his four years in the Southampton first team, Shearer made a total of 158 appearances in all competitions, scoring 43 goals. Despite making just one goalless appearance as England failed to progress past the Euro 1992 group stages, Shearer was soon subject to an English transfer record-breaking £3.6million bid from Blackburn Rovers. Although there was also interest from Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson,
1993–94 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season 1993–94 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season During the 1993–94 English football season, Blackburn Rovers F.C. competed in the FA Premier League. It was another strong season for a resurgent Blackburn, who were in the higher reaches of the Premier League all season long and, at one stage in early April, were level on points with leaders Manchester United, who had led the league almost from start to finish and entered 1994 with a 16-point lead. The return of Alan Shearer from a long-term injury saw him make a swift return to his superb form of old, with the 23-year-old hitman scoring