BLACKBURN Rovers star David Dunn seemed to be living every boy's dream - but an expert is warning how fame and fortune can be a nightmare.

Seven years ago he was a working class boy from Great Harwood who had just left St. Augustine's RC High in Billington with the hope of making it as a footballer.

Now the 23 year-old is thought to earn around £20,000 a week playing for his boyhood team.

He drives a Porsche, dates a soap star and struggles to go out without being recognised by some of his thousands of adoring fans.

Last September, he made his England debut as a substitute against Portugal and his rise seemed set to go on and on.

But yesterday Blackburn's manager Graeme Souness shocked the town by revealing he would sell David.

He said: "He's frustrated me this year and maybe he has to leave Blackburn to fulfil his potential.

"I'd like him to stay here and become the player I know he can be.

"But maybe he needs to listen to other voices now because he's had his eye taken off the ball by other things going on in his life."

What the 'others things' are is unclear, but David has attracted the attention of the national newspapers news pages, rather than sport, as his fame grew.

Last year it was reported he was dating a glamour model, now his current girlfriend is said to be pretty Emmerdale star Sammy Winward.

Professor John Williams, who is director of the Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research at Leicester University, said: "There is a real problem for young players now. Perhaps particularly in places like Blackburn, which is one of the smallest towns in the Premiership.

"It's not an easy place to get lost in. Some of the foreign players like London because people don't spot you as much as compared to Italy or Spain. They can have a social life and a private life.

"The kinds of sums and rewards is clearly difficult, especially for local players. They want to have a good life and enjoy that but also want not to leave their old mates behind. It's a difficult balance to strike.

"These are very rich people who are rich very young, younger than you can get from most other jobs.

"Underneath it all they are still just young working class men. They want to do the things young working class men do.

"We shouldn't be surprised at that or condemn them for that.

"People also criticise them with the preface of how much money they earn and managers often say they should only think of football.

"We expect too much of a lot of young players."

Rovers legend Simon Garner left Rovers in the early 1990s, but has seen football undergo a big change since his famous days of combining drinking and smoking with scoring goals.

He said: "I wasn't cracked down upon in my time like they do today.

"I could go and have a pint, but they can't do that.

"I would have found it difficult today, but I would have change my lifestyle.

"It is a lot harder now. With the money you can only buy so many cars, but you have to keep yourself fit so you keep having the money."