SEBASTIEN Perez's £3 million move to Marseille is back on again after further talks between Ewood officials and representatives of the French club.

It is now a distinct possibility that a deal could go through in the next few days.

But, while Perez might well be on his way out of Blackburn Rovers, Garry Flitcroft has signed a new long-term Ewood deal.

And there is also good news for manager Brian Kidd about striker Kevin Davies, who has been allowed out of hospital and is recovering well from another tonsils scare.

Perez, who is desperate to return to his native France for family reasons - as we exclusively revealed some time ago - has already stated his preference for Marseille.

But, after showing initial interest, they seemed to have cooled over the idea; probably influenced by the size of the transfer fee which represents a huge amount for a French League club.

Ewood chief executive John Williams, however, led talks with intermediaries acting on behalf of Marseille yesterday and the general feeling now is that a deal can be done.

The major proviso is that Rovers will want to recoup most of the money they paid Bastia for Perez in the summer.

And they are close to agreement on a figure which is not very far from that.

The chief executive said today that definite progress had been made and he was "reasonably confident" a deal could be struck. That could be over the weekend, or early next week.

"We have found that these clubs do tend to work slowly on things like this," he added.

There are still a number of details to sort out but there is a little extra pressure on Marseille, as the French transfer window closes on January 31.

While one midfielder looks to be on his way out, however, Flitcroft has now completed the signing of his new long-term contract at Ewood.

As we revealed last week, talks had been going on for some time and Flitcroft has put pen to paper on the deal for the next five and a half years, taking him through to the summer of 2004.

The 26-year-old midfielder is delighted with the new contract and he has also been given the go-ahead by the specialist to step up his training work, after recovering from knee surgery. But he is still some way from thinking about being able to play a part in Kidd's plans.

Skipper Tim Sherwood has also had further talks about a new improved contract.

Now in a much happier frame of mind than earlier in the season, following the change of management, Sherwood hopes to resolve his contract problems with better terms in the near future.

He still has three and a half years to go on the deal he signed last year so there is no undue haste.

Rovers were concerned about Davies, who was admitted to hospital again this week, suffering from more tonsilitis problems. But the manager said today: "He has been allowed out now which is good news and we'll have a look at him when it has cleared up. We'll do whatever is best for the lad."

Davies was seriously ill before Kidd took over at Ewood but Williams explained: "He is getting better and it was nothing like as serious as last time.

"It seems to be an infection of the tonsils but, happily, he is on the mend."

Illness and injury problems have been a major hindrance for Davies in his attempts to settle in, following his £7.25 million move from Southampton.

Meanwhile, Rovers could be one of the clubs affected by the World under-20 Championships, due to be staged in Nigeria from April 3-24. David Dunn, who has already made his debut at under-21 level, could be a contender for England. So too could Martin Taylor and Gareth Stewart.

Damien Duff, still 19, would be a certainty for the Republic of Ireland, unless they decide that a player who is already established in the full squad should be left out.

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