'Contract talks with Owen will start soon' - Mort

Apr 24 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

CHRIS Mort will begin contract negotiations with Michael Owen full of praise for the way the Newcastle skipper helped lead the team out of their alarming slump in form.

Although the interest in Owen’s future at St James’s Park has been intense in recent weeks, United’s chairman is fairly relaxed about the situation as he hinted talks would begin at the end of the season.

Owen, who has scored six goals in his last six games for the club, will only have 12 months left on his present deal in June, but there is a growing belief inside the Newcastle camp that United’s skipper is happy and settled on Tyneside.

And, for Mort, that is one of the best pieces of news he has received since he took over from former chairman Freddie Shepherd 10 months ago, as he revealed Owen has become the perfect figurehead for the club both on and off the pitch.

He said: “We hope Michael will be around for a long time. He has been very impressive this season, not just in terms of the goals he has scored, but also in the influence he has had on the dressing room and how hard he has worked for the team.

“I’ve seen the statistics and the amount of ground he covers in each game is remarkable. He is clearly somebody who is very important to us as a club and we believe he wants to stay with us as well. He was very unlucky with injuries when he first came to Newcastle, but he has proved his value to the side now that he is over those problems.

“ It isn’t just the chances he is creating and the goals he is scoring, he has had a very positive impact on the team and

the dressing room as a captain as well and that’s been just as important to us and the manager. He has been a really important figure and has had a big part to play as results have improved.”

As is often the case with contract sagas, much of the pressure on the situation is created from the outside, but Mort is adamant the club and Owen will stick to their own agenda as they look to thrash out a deal which could keep the England international at St James’s Park for at least another four years.

Mort added: “Of course we want to keep Michael and we will be sitting down with his representatives soon to discuss a new contract with him. That will be the start of the process. However, we aren’t going to rush anything, there is plenty of time and we are both relaxed about the whole thing.”

Having seen Newcastle move clear of any relegation trouble during an impressive run of four wins and two draws from their last six games, Mort knows he can start to turn his attention to new contracts. As well as Owen, centre-back Steven Taylor has made no secret of the fact he is looking for a new deal and Obafemi Martins is also close to signing a new four-year contract after two encouraging years in English football.

The negotiation process with Taylor has not been without its problems, with the club reacting angrily when the England Under-21 international initially looked to become one of the best paid players at the club at just 22 years of age. But those tensions appear to have disappeared and talks are set to resume in the next few weeks, with Taylor adamant he wants to stay at the club.

Mort added: “Steven Taylor is a young and very promising defender. We would like him to stay at the club long term. We will sit down with Steven and his father and hopefully work something out.”