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£9m Owen tempts Reds
Wed, May 09 2007 11:49

Newcastle could be ready to offload Michael Owen to Manchester United, settling for half the fee that was paid for him.
Owen is believed to be a target for Sir Alex Ferguson this summer, who could take advantage of a clause in the player's contract that will make him one of the summer's best bargains at £9m.

Newcastle are still in dispute over who pays Owen's wages following his World Cup injury, which has brought to light that the 27-year-old is on £110,000-a-week.

Former Bolton boss Sam Allardyce, set to take over at St James's Park this summer, is not keen on wage disparity among his squad and appears ready to sanction Owen's departure.

Ferguson admitted he spoke to Big Sam last week and the name of Owen could have cropped up in their conversation as the Premiership champions target a frontman capable of delivering 20 goals.

Ferguson has already explored the possibility of signing the player widely regarded to be his first choice - Dimitar Berbatov but, having agreed a deal of up to £18.6m for Michael Carrick last year, has been told that Tottenham Hotspur will price the Bulgarian international out the market.

Owen would be a more than capable stop-gap and has already proved to be a better strike partner to Wayne Rooney than either Ruud van Nistelrooy or Louis Saha because he is always looking to make the run in behind.

The clause in his Newcastle contract means that he will be able to leave the north-east for much less than the £17m paid for him two years ago.