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United eager to trigger Owen's £9m escape clause


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The Newcastle United striker Michael Owen will be the first target for Sir Alex Ferguson this summer with the new Premiership champions eager to take advantage of a clause in the player's contract that will make him one of the summer's best bargains. Owen should be available to leave St James' Park for around £9m.

 

Should a deal be struck, there is understood to be no major objections from the man himself about joining the oldest rivals of his first club Liverpool who passed up the chance to re-sign him in 2005 when he left Real Madrid. The 27-year-old found his old club outbid then by Newcastle but the clause in his contract means that he will be able to leave the north-east for much less than the £17m paid for him two years ago.

 

Manchester United have explored the possibility of signing Dimitar Berbatov but, having agreed a deal of up to £18.6m for Michael Carrick last year, have been told that on this occasion Tottenham Hotspur will attempt to price the Bulgarian international out the market. Owen fits the bill for Old Trafford in more than one way, he brings the guarantee of goals and he comes cheaper than usual for a former European footballer of the year.

 

The dispute between the Football Association and Newcastle over who pays Owen's wages following his World Cup injury has all but disclosed that the player is on £110,000-a-week which would put him among the top earners at Old Trafford. As usual, any reports of Owen leaving Newcastle where injury has prevented him playing more than 13 games in two years, are likely to be met with a firm riposte from St James Park but there is no question that Manchester United are interested.

 

The Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd is yet to appoint a new manager since Glenn Roeder's departure and Owen's future is likely to play a significant role in that deal. However, regardless of the bad luck Newcastle may have had with Owen's metatarsal injury last year, and this season's cruciate, the original release clause was there for just this kind of move. It would not play well with the Newcastle public, but they might wish to question why such an agreement was brokered in the first place.

 

Ferguson has lacked a more traditional goalscoring poacher since the departure of Ruud van Nistelrooy last summer and, with the injuries to Louis Saha, there has not been a settled strike partner for

 

Wayne Rooney. Owen would also suit the high-tempo, pressing game that United have switched to over the last season in the absence of the Dutchman.

 

"Speed is important to us," Ferguson said. "The way we play we need that in the team. At the moment we are looking whether we can get more speed."

 

With deals also likely for Owen Hargreaves and Gareth Bale, Ferguson will certainly test the finances of the club under the Glazer ownership this summer.

 

In the meantime, he is expected to pick a strong United side to play at Stamford Bridge tonight as his champions attempt to be the first team to inflict Chelsea's first home Premiership defeat since Jose Mourinho took over. The Chelsea manager is expected to rest Didier Drogba.

 

United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo has recorded an appeal for the return of the missing English girl Madeleine McCann who was abducted while on a family holiday in the Algarve on Thursday.

 

Ronaldo filmed the appeal in English and Portuguese before travelling with the United squad to London for tonight's game at Stamford Bridge.

 

The appeal was made at the request of the British foreign office staff in Portugal who thought that his huge profile in his home country would draw attention to the hunt for the missing three-year-old.

 

Owen's Newcastle record

 

2005

 

Michael Owen joins Newcastle for £16m from Real Madrid in August.

 

10 Sep Newcastle 1 Fulham 1

 

18 Sep Blackburn 0 Newcastle 3 (Owen 1)

 

24 Sep Newcastle 1 Man City 0 (Owen 1 )

 

15 Oct Wigan 1 Newcastle 0

 

30 Oct West Bromwich 0 Newcastle 3 (Owen 2)

 

5 Nov Newcastle 1 Birmingham 0

 

10 Dec Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0

 

17 Dec West Ham 2 Newcastle 4 (Owen 3)

 

26 Dec Liverpool 2 Newcastle 0

 

31 Dec Tottenham 2 Newcastle 0

 

Breaks metatarsal bone in his foot at Tottenham and is out until April 2006, undergoing two operations.

 

2006

 

29 April Birmingham 0 Newcastle 0

 

Comes on as substitute at Birmingham, but not "100 per cent happy" and does not play again domestically. In June, damages anterior cruciate ligament in England's final World Cup group game. Does not play again for 10 months.

 

2007

 

30 April Reading 1 Newcastle 0

 

5 May Newcastle 0 Blackburn 2

 

Overall: Games 13 Goals 7 (cost per goal £2.2m)

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If Owen goes for this then he's going to be the biggest hate figure for toon fans in modern times.

 

I don't think he would be prepared to ruin his squeaky clean image and shaft us so ruthlessly like this. Unless of course Fat Freddie upsets him.......

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If Owen is allowed to go for £9m the fat bastard in charge should be the biggest hate figure for putting such a ridiculous clause in his contract!

The shambles this club has been since Owens arrival I couldn't blame him one bit for wanting to leave though!

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If Owen is allowed to go for £9m the fat bastard in charge should be the biggest hate figure for putting such a ridiculous clause in his contract!

The shambles this club has been since Owens arrival I couldn't blame him one bit for wanting to leave though!

 

If he can go for anything less than £12-13 million whoever negotiated that contract wants shooting (and not figuratively).

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You know what? When you hear something once or twice, you can shrug it off as just another stupid rumour...but when you hear it repeatedly, you start to have your doubts....and when you add the words "Freddie" and "Shepherd" into the equation, then eventually you realise that maybe this is more than just an annoying rumour that won't go away...

 

Owen owes us nothing though - if I was him, I'd be wanting away by now too.

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If Michael Owen's got any sense, a) there will be such a clause in his contract, and b ) he'll be telling his agent to get him as far away from NUFC as possible this summer.

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Guest alex

Well the clause story persistently appears in The Times and Owen has a column in the same paper. Seems a bit odd that he wouldn't out them straight if it isn't true, doesn't it? And I reckon he'd be off to Man Utd. in a shot and who could blame him?

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Well the clause story persistently appears in The Times and Owen has a column in the same paper. Seems a bit odd that he wouldn't out them straight if it isn't true, doesn't it? And I reckon he'd be off to Man Utd. in a shot and who could blame him?

 

Aye, read it in the Times yesterday. I reckon he's off like.

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You know what? When you hear something once or twice, you can shrug it off as just another stupid rumour...but when you hear it repeatedly, you start to have your doubts....and when you add the words "Freddie" and "Shepherd" into the equation, then eventually you realise that maybe this is more than just an annoying rumour that won't go away...

 

Owen owes us nothing though - if I was him, I'd be wanting away by now too.

 

I dunno about owing nothing, we gave him an escape and paid him very well for it (as well as for him), it's not his fault he's been injured, but equally he's not really done much to pay any of that back (when you factor in wages he may well be our most expensive mistake if he goes for £9m).

 

On the other hand I can understand why he'd want to be away, but that doesn't make it a likable decision or mean he should be anything but disliked for doing it (here anyway).

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Even Alan Oliver's favourite Geordie Boys in the squad would leave for Man United if given the chance. It's a total no-brainer. Whether they're interested so soon after he's just got back from a bad injury is another thing.

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Tbh, I wouldn't dislike Owen if he left us. It's totally understandable imo.

 

For £15m I'd mildly dislike him and think he was ungrateful, if understandable.

 

For £9m I'd I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire, I'd just warm my backside on him instead.

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Tbh, I wouldn't dislike Owen if he left us. It's totally understandable imo.

 

I think its despicable tbh, but exactly what I expect from him. Mind, the real blame lies with the negotiation of the contract.

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Tbh, I wouldn't dislike Owen if he left us. It's totally understandable imo.

 

I think its despicable tbh, but exactly what I expect from him. Mind, the real blame lies with the negotiation of the contract.

:D

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Lets face it he just used us as a vehicle to get to the world cup - cos he wasn't gettin a game for madrid he needed somewhere in england to play and we are the only ones outside the top four who can afford him

 

Hurts to think that way but he has no loyalty to us and would jump at the chance of man u

 

No doubt the heart wrenching expose of how he felt he had let the geordie nation down after he has left will come to the surface but its just piss and wind

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Guest alex

If Owen left for £9million this summer I'd be hoping someone snapped his leg on the opening day of next season in all honesty.

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I think this get out clause rumour is the biggest pile of shite ever. What makes you think such a greedy, ruthless man as Shepherd is going to write into a players contract that after paying 17million if someone comes in and offers above half that then the player can leave.

 

Papers living in a fantasy world because their bitter that we have Englands Michael Owen.

 

Thats all it boils down to imo

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I personally don't think he'll go, but if he does, he can fuck right off.

Yes Dave if he does go that is indeed what he shall be doing. :D

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If there is a clause in his contract I don't think it's a straight forward release clause, more likely to be activated only if we finish below a certain point in the league or fail to qualify for Europe.

 

Should be sell him for £9m the whole deal will have cost us £16.3m (£7m loss in transfer fee + £9.7m in wages), a shocking waste of money.

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