Everton are said to be prepared to freeze want-away Alex Nyarko's ?15,000 / week wages and even take the player to court to seek compensation.

The club are desperately trying to track down the Ghanaian international in a bid to resolve the situation.

Frantic phone calls to all and sundry have so far failed to locate the player after Nyarko went AWOL from training on Sunday and Monday.

Some rumours suggest that Nyarko has even fled the country in a bid to get away from his travails. Nyarko is not the first foreign footballer in the premiership to grab the headlines for such unusual antics - Paolo Di Canio and the likes of Marco Boogers spring to mind as past rebels - but Everton simply can't afford to lose ?4.5 million worth of talent without getting a significant amount back.

Walter Smith had hoped to have talks with Nyarko yesterday in a bid to find a club on the continent for him but these have obviously been put on hold until he can be tracked down.

"We'll have to wait for a meeting with the player to take place before we, as a club, can decide what action to take. We'll have to wait for him to come back, or have some contact with him, before we can find out what his situation is," Walter Smith said.

Meanwhile, Everton are also considering taking legal action against the fan of 30 years who ran on to the pitch to offer to swap shirts with Nyarko. 41-year-old unemployed labourer Stephen Price has since apologised to the club and his fellow supporters though for the action he took but was not prepared to offer the hand of friendship to Nyarko.

Price said : "I could not stomach it any more after travelling down to London to watch the club I love and seeing certain players not wearing the shirt with pride, passion or commitment and being paid a king's ransom."