United's talks with Owen are underway

May 14 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

NEWCASTLE United have finally opened contract talks with Michael Owen as they look to put an end to the speculation regarding his future before they make their own moves in the transfer market.

Representatives of the England international met with club officials last week to begin negotiations and a second meeting is planned to take place in the next fortnight.

Owen’s future has risen to the top of the agenda following last week’s meeting between manager Kevin Keegan and owner Mike Ashley. Newcastle hope that a long-term commitment from Owen will illustrate the club’s ambition and help persuade other big-name players to join him.

The club’s captain has already been linked with a move to Manchester United this month, while struggling Japanese side JEF United Chiba appeared to use the England international’s name as a publicity stunt yesterday when they said they were also interested in signing him.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker is unlikely to entertain the thought of a move to the Far East at this stage of his career, while suggestions that he is wanted by Manchester United have mystified both parties.

A move to Old Trafford would be an attractive one for the 28-year-old, but there has been no indication from the Premier League champions that they are interested in him, despite an impressive end to the season at St James’s Park.

For his part, Owen continues to make the right noises about remaining a Newcastle player and he is full of praise for the work done by Keegan.

He said: “He’s had a massive impact. It was never going to happen straight away, not only did we have some tough games, but a lot of the lads were low on confidence. When you lose a manager the only reason you lose them is because results have not been good.

“The confidence wasn’t high, but if you could ever ask for a man to pick players up and get the best out of them then it’s Kevin Keegan, and I think there’s more improvement to come in that respect.” Owen also revealed how, despite previous doubts about Keegan’s tactical acumen, he has been impressed with the way the new boss handled that side of the game.

“We all enjoy training and playing alongside each other and he has brought a real feel-good factor into the club,” said Owen in an interview on Newcastle World. “Everyone is enjoying coming in to training every day and when you do that you do it better. He knows his stuff and he can see a player, he can see if something needs tweaking or changing and tactically he’s very good. It’s been a fantastic appointment for us and we’ve all really enjoyed his time so far.”

Although the contract negotiation process is underway, The Journal understands last week’s meeting did not contain any offers in terms of the length of the deal or the wages on offer. Ashley is keen to lower the wage bill and there has been speculation Owen will be asked to take a pay cut. The centre-forward currently earns around £105,000-a-week, which makes him one of the best-paid players in Europe and Newcastle could offer him a basic wage of £80,000-a-week.

Whether Newcastle will indeed ask their star player to drop his wage demands remains to be seen, but it is highly unlikely they will offer him a pay rise, even if Keegan is desperate to keep him on Tyneside.

On the face of things, that could open the door to rival clubs, but even Manchester United are unlikely to offer him more than he is already on at Newcastle. Owen has also been linked with Manchester City, but that move will not happen if, as expected, Sven-Göran Eriksson is removed as manager in the coming weeks.

Another club who might be interested in Owen is Everton, who would be able to offer the striker a move back to his native north west, as well as European football. However, there is a strict wage structure in place at Goodison Park and they would be highly unlikely to offer him more than £70,000-a-week.

Nevertheless, while United’s contract negotiators Dennis Wise and Tony Jimenez will be aware of this, Owen’s advisors will also know that Keegan desperately wants the striker to stay.

As a result, although Owen’s basic pay packet could be slashed he is unlikely to lose out, with the rest of his income topped up by an image rights deal, appearance fees and goal bonuses.

Meanwhile, Kevin Keegan, Wise and Terry McDermott were all in Paris last weekend to watch PSG’s 1-1 draw with Saint Etienne to look at the highly-rated striker Bafetimbi Gomis. Gomis, who has been favourably compared to Emmanuel Adebayor, has scored 24 goals in 79 appearances for Etienne and the 22-year-old would cost around £10m.

FORMER Newcastle defender Peter Ramage has signed for ambitious Championship club Queens Park Rangers following his release by United. The 24-year-old Academy graduate, who made 68 appearances for the Magpies, has signed a three-year-deal at Loftus Road.