Owen going: The striker signs for a young patient, but he
doesn't want to sign for Newcastle
Michael Owen is looking for a lucrative free transfer in
the summer and has told his
Newcastle team-mates he is
hoping for
Liverpool,
Manchester City or
Everton to make him an offer he
cannot refuse.
If Newcastle thought Owen would rush to agree a new contract —
complete with a £20,000-a-week pay cut — they would have been
disappointed yesterday.
Instead they will be made to sweat by the exiled England
striker, who looks certain to quit St James’ Park in the summer in
search of a fresh future.
Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear finally offered Owen a new deal
yesterday, eight months after his predecessor Kevin Keegan urged
owner Mike Ashley to secure the former England striker.
But 29-year-old Owen and his advisers are in no rush to sign a
new contract after months of waiting for Ashley to open
negotiations. Kinnear has also opened talks with Nicky Butt and
Shola Ameobi and is confident they will sign again before their
deals run out at the end of the season.
During a club visit to a Newcastle children’s ward yesterday,
former
Manchester United
midfielder Butt indicated he is ready to take up the option of an
additional year on his current contract.
He said: ‘My feelings are that I would like to stay at the club
until the end of my career now and hopefully we can sort that out,
the sooner the better really. As soon as the contract is OK for me
and the club, I am happy to sign.’
