Evening Standard (London): Bookies to scalp punters over Becks' haircut

DAVID BECKHAM'S hair attracts almost as much attention as his footballing skills -and now bookmakers are taking bets on which style he will choose for the World Cup.

We've had the centre parting, the oddly shaped mullet, the short spiky look, tramlines and, of course, the mohican (accompanied at one stage by a half-shaved eyebrow). But how will the England captain look when Sven Goran Eriksson's squad play their first match in Japan this summer?

Punters can pick from a whole series of possible crops- with a patriotic St George's Cross cut the 9-4 favourite, according to bookmakers SportingOdds.com.

Other options include: Close shave (skinhead look) 11-4.

Bleach blond (last seen at a match in Sweden in 1999) 5-1.

Mohican (old favourite) 10-1.

Mullet (long at the back, very short at the sides) 10-1.

Sven (thin on top) 33-1.

Ginola (dark, shoulder-length) 50-1.

Current style (uncontroversial) 7-1.

The close shave would be ideal for the heat in Japan, but soccer's top trendsetter may want to make a fashion statement when he leads his team out on to the pitch. His wife Victoria takes a close interest in such matters and he asked for her advice before going public with a Gary Rhodes style crop (short and spiky) last month. "David is very single-minded but he asked me what I thought about it and I told him I liked it," she said.

Britain's hairdressers won't be unduly worried about which style he chooses, as long as he allows his blond locks to grow a little. The skinhead look - unveiled two years ago -- cost the industry millions of pounds as fans found they could do the same in double- quick time with a pair of clippers.

But the bookies are hoping to cash in on Becks-mania. "How it looks for the opening match will be big news. It will set the fashion for thousands of kids and adults," said SportingOdds boss Wally Pyrah.

Beckham has already hit the jackpot several times over, with reports today that he will collect more than pounds 3 million in back pay if he signs a new contract with Manchester United. In addition to a new salary of pounds 5.2 million, United say they will honour a pledge to backdate the arrangements to last August, when the season began.

That means the midfielder can look forward to a lump sum of pounds 3.2 million on top of his first month's salary. Beckham is holding out for pounds 100,000 a week, including image rights, while United are believed to be offering closer to pounds 80,000.

Whatever the final figure, it should be enough to pay for a new hair cut.

A MANCHESTER UNITED director is being sued by a Las Vegas casino over a gambling debt of more than pounds 1 million, write Chris Millar and James Langton.

Property developer Amer Al Midani, 44, of Alderley Edge, Cheshire, reputedly worth pounds 20 million, is facing a bankruptcy action after he allegedly wrote a bouncing cheque to cover his roulette losses. Today the Rio Casino confirmed Mr Al Midani owed pounds 1.13 million. He has been a United board member since the Eighties and retains a pounds 710,000 stake in the football club. Credit controllers at the Rio wrote a series of letters to recover the cash but all were unsuccessful, it is claimed. A hearing will take place in Stockport on 23 April.