Is Becks getting the chop?

David Beckham may be about to ruin the lives of hundreds of his Japanese fans - by cutting off his trademark mohican. The 27-year-old England captain is flying his Essex-based hairdresser out to Japan and it is thought he may chop off the now internationally recognised blond stripe.

Such a move would leave the hundreds if not thousands of his supporters here who have copied the look disappointed. Aidan Phelan, who runs Strangeways salon, in Leigh-on-Sea, has hinted that the mohican tuft he first created a year ago may be for the chop.

"We'll sit down and discuss it," he said. "David has obviously been putting his football first but his hair is growing out a bit now and it needs tidying up."

A friend of Mr Phelan today confirmed that he would be flying to Japan on Wednesday.

He will arrive in time for Beckham, who unexpectedly turned up at today's Brazil game against Belgium, to showcase whatever new haircut the pair devise when the captain leads his team out to face the victors on Friday.

Mr Phelan, men's British hairdresser of the year in 2000 and runner up last year, has been cutting Beckham's hair for six months, doing what he calls freestyling.

"With David it's like any consultation," he said. "We sit down together and he's like 'what shall we do?' I say 'do you like the front?' He says 'yeah' so we leave the front. It's a bit off here, a bit off there. Last time we decided to keep the mohican, and bring the sides up."

He loves working with Beckham: "He can carry absolutely everything off and he is adventurous. I'm definitely at my most creative when I'm working with him."

Phelan, whose salon is named after Strangeways Prison, likes to think of himself as the Jamie Oliver of hairdressing. "My trademark is using my clippers to sculpt out shapes. I'm making hairdressing fun, exciting and down to earth. For me it's about being creative and, importantly, commercial, but with an edgy feel."

Since creating the Beckham style, he has been inundated with men eager for a change."Men's hairdressing has gone through the roof. The look has become very urban, street. I get brickies, builders and solicitors coming to me now, all looking for essentially the same thing."

Beckham's hair caused him some trouble as he led his team to a 3-0 win over Denmark on Saturday. A massive downpour at the end of the first half caused his spiky look to droop - only for him to emerge for the second half with the mohican once again erect.

The transformation caused great mirth among Japanese television viewers, who speculated as to whether Beckham had just towel-dried his hair or actually taken out a hair drier during Sven's team talk.

If he is to devastate his many Japanese copyists by cutting his hair, Beckham softened the blow by saying he may consider playing out his career in the World Cup host country.

"I'm talking about when my top flight career is over," he said.

"The reception I've had here has been amazing. I experienced something from having been here before with Manchester United - it was very manic then but I've never had anyhing like this anywhere."

He said that because he is mobbed by thousands of mostly female fans at every public outing, he has been advised to stay inside the team's hotel on Awaji Island.

"It's unfortunate as I like to experience these things ... but you never know, I might play here at one point."

A new life in Japan might just appeal to his wife Victoria too. The Spice Girls, her former band, remain a good deal more popular here than in Europe.

It certainly would not lower Beckham's public profile. Here he is if anything even more famous than at home, "Beckham" having replaced "okay" as the single best known English word among young World Cup- crazed Japanese.

Now that England have qualified for the quarter finals, it will be at least a week until Beckham sees his pregnant wife and their three-year-old son Brooklyn again. They are keeping in touch by video phone

But some of his team mates will be looking forward to reunions with their wives and girlfriends - but not as iminently as they might like, as manager Sven-Goran Eriksson does not want his players spending time alone with their partners until after the crucial game on Friday.

Patrners will fly out on Wednesday, arriving in Japan on Thursday but will not actually see their loved ones until after the game.

The party is expected to include Martin Keown's wife Nicola, Nigel Martyn's wife Amanda, Paul Scholes's wife Claire, Nicky Butt's fianc?e Shelley, Robbie Fowler's wife Kerry and David Seaman's wife Debbie.

Already in Japan are Michael Owen's girlfriend Louise Bonsall and Gareth Southgate's wife Alison, who travelled privately.

Debbie Seaman, who will bring children Georgina, two, and Robbie, one, said: "I've really missed him since he's been away and so have the kids."

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