[manutd004]

Daily Mirror

Michael Owen set to leave Newcastle
30/08/2008



Michael Owen is set to deal Kevin Keegan a massive blow by leaving Newcastle.

And Toon boss Keegan fears the Dimitar Berbatov saga could mean either Manchester United or Tottenham come in with a bid in the next 24 hours that tempts billionaire owner Mike Ashley to cash in.

Keegan's passionate campaign to keep Owen at Newcastle looks doomed after Ashley insisted the players £5million-a-year wages must be slashed.

The England striker, whose present deal expires in June 2009, has been offered a new one-year deal worth £80,000 a week.

But that represents a s1m-plus cut on his present annual salary and doesnt offer the job security Owen is seeking.

Owen, who will be 29 in December, can sign a pre-contract for another team in January and there is sure to be a queue of clubs ready to take him on a free.

Owen has said he is happy to stay , but when he sits down with his advisers this week the feeling is he will reject the new offer.

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A Newcastle insider has revealed Keegan is distraught at the prospect of losing his star striker, especially as his squad is now smaller than last season.

He said: "Kevin has done everything possible to persuade Newcastle to push the boat out to keep Owen. He knows asking Owen to take a pay cut leaves the player with little option but to sign for someone else."

And if Ashley believes Owen may go for nothing in January he might even accept an offer for him before this transfer window closes. Certainly Keegan is concerned about that.

Losing James Milner was bad enough, but if Keegan saw Owen go it would be a disaster.

Fans are concerned that in net terms the club is actually in profit on summer transfers.

But Keegan is hoping that will change. He said: "We are looking to get three or four players in by midnight on Monday. I am confident we will do that."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/latest/...5875-20717693/

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If we could get Owen for £2m, or another reasonable price, I would grab him with both hands.

Yes, hes had a lot of injuries at Newcastle. But Newcastle players seem to get a lot, and I mean a lot of injuries, and you can't tell me all of those players are injury-prone.

I believe that we could get him back to his best, and when he is at his best, hes a great striker.

For £2m, or another reasonable price, hes definitely worth the risk imo.

Your opinion?

[Dirtycheat]

Why sell saha who is proven at the club but sold because of injury problems when you are going to replace him with another good but injury prone player?

I cant believe Newcastle could be so stupid. They should have had this deal for own wrapped up a long time ago. If they couldnt guarantee him then they shouldnt have sold Milner. They are screwed if owen leaves. They invested so much money in him and he is leaving for peanuts.

In a last choice panic buying sort of moment then i think its an ok deal. I dont think he will be going united though.

[manutd004]

Originally Posted by Dirtycheat

Why sell saha who is proven at the club but sold because of injury problems when you are going to replace him with another good but injury prone player?

I cant believe Newcastle could be so stupid. They should have had this deal for own wrapped up a long time ago. If they couldnt guarantee him then they shouldnt have sold Milner. They are screwed if owen leaves. They invested so much money in him and he is leaving for peanuts.

In a last choice panic buying sort of moment then i think its an ok deal. I dont think he will be going united though.

I don't think he will be coming either, and I would prefer someone else.

However, we really need a striker by midnight tomorrow. And if we could get Owen for £2m, it could be a fantastic deal.

I know hes been injured quite a bit at Newcastle, but I wouldn't look into that too much. There seems to have been many, many players at Newcastle who get injured quite often, and I don't think they're ALL injury-prone.

And for £2m, if he is injury-prone here, then we won't be losing much.

[funkdoctorspock]

I'm trying to figure out how Owen would be of use to United. Yes he scores goals, but he wouldn't fit United's system.

Furthermore, he's another midget and would be adding no height, aerial ability up front which we need for wingers and wingbacks.

Thanks, but no thanks...

Owen would do well to resign with the Barcodes and stop being a mercenary imo.

[manutd004]

Originally Posted by funkdoctorspock

I'm trying to figure out how Owen would be of use to United. Yes he scores goals, but he wouldn't fit United's system.

Furthermore, he's another midget and would be adding no height, aerial ability up front which we need for wingers and wingbacks.

Thanks, but no thanks...

Owen would do well to resign with the Barcodes and stop being a mercenary imo.

Goals are what we need at the moment.

And Owen does score a few in the air, even if he is a "midget."

[funkdoctorspock]

Originally Posted by manutd004

Goals are what we need at the moment.

And Owen does score a few in the air, even if he is a "midget."

Actually what we need is balance up top and a different look to capitalize on the goal scoring opportunities. Owen provides nothing new to what we see from Rooney and Tevez.

And while Owen scores goals, in the last couple of seasons he has been no different to Saha in the injury department.

So again, why Owen?

[losangeles]

I'll pass on Owen. I don't think many defenses fear him and I don't think he's got his head together either. We are not desperate enough to sign him in my opinion, and if we did the price tag would be far more than 2 million. I don't think Owen is good enough to lead England anywhere and I think you need to be better than that to lead United somewhere.

Newcastle's decisions are absolutely mind boggling. I couldn't imagine being a fan of theirs as it would be so frustrating.

I know it is off topic, but I feel the same way about Liverpool. There is just no chance they will win the league. They can finish 4th and I doubt any better than 4th. I'd be so sick if Liverpool were my team, because every year it is a fight to cling onto a Champions League spot and hide their blatant Premiership insufficiency by going far in Europe.

I can't wait until United has more League titles than Liverpool.