From the Daily Mail -
Michael Owen's miserable stay at Newcastle will end during next month's transfer window if the club can find a buyer.
Newcastle are ready to cut their losses on the England striker, who cost them £17million to sign from Real Madrid in the summer of 2005.
Manager Sam Allardyce has contacted Manchester City's Sven Goran Eriksson to see if he is interested in Owen. The two worked closely together during the Swede's five-and-a-half years in charge of England but although Eriksson is keen, City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has blocked any deal because of the 28-year-old's wretched fitness record since he moved to St James' Park.
Owen has started only 21 games since joining Newcastle. When his £105,000-a-week salary is taken into account, the deal has so far cost them more than £30m.
Newcastle will want about £8m and fear the former Liverpool striker would be available for nothing at the end of next summer if he is not sold. There has been no sign of a contract extension and Owen is eager to be playing European football at this critical stage of his career.
Owen is expected to return against Derby on Sunday week after spending more time on the sidelines because of the damaged hamstring he picked up on international duty with England.
Allardyce would prefer to do a deal towards the end of January, which would give Owen time to prove his fitness.
Newcastle will be without Obafemi Martins during the African Nations Cup next month and will need a ready-made replacement.
Crucially, Allardyce has been told he has little cash for transfers during the January window and will have to generate his own finance. If he can find a buyer for Owen, he will be given the funds for new players.
Owen's miserable injury record has contributed to Newcastle's disappointing form over recent years and former manager Sir Bobby Robson will tonight stir the pot further by claiming the club's problems can be traced back to his departure from St James' Park.
Robson was in charge for five years before being sacked after a poor run of results at the start of the 2004-05 season.
Graeme Souness and Glenn Roeder followed but failed to live up to expectations and now Allardyce, appointed in the summer, is the latest to feel the pressure.
'I took the club over when it was bottom of the league and in the last three years I was there it was third, fourth and fifth,' said Robson, 74, in an interview to be shown on on Setanta's Friday Football Show.
'We were in the top five for the last three years. I lost my job rather abruptly, I couldn't believe it. I didn't lose two consecutive matches and I lost my job, it was crazy. Without being egotistical, the club has suffered ever since.'
Michael Owen's miserable stay at Newcastle will end during next month's transfer window if the club can find a buyer.
Newcastle are ready to cut their losses on the England striker, who cost them £17million to sign from Real Madrid in the summer of 2005.
Manager Sam Allardyce has contacted Manchester City's Sven Goran Eriksson to see if he is interested in Owen. The two worked closely together during the Swede's five-and-a-half years in charge of England but although Eriksson is keen, City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has blocked any deal because of the 28-year-old's wretched fitness record since he moved to St James' Park.
Owen has started only 21 games since joining Newcastle. When his £105,000-a-week salary is taken into account, the deal has so far cost them more than £30m.
Newcastle will want about £8m and fear the former Liverpool striker would be available for nothing at the end of next summer if he is not sold. There has been no sign of a contract extension and Owen is eager to be playing European football at this critical stage of his career.
Owen is expected to return against Derby on Sunday week after spending more time on the sidelines because of the damaged hamstring he picked up on international duty with England.
Allardyce would prefer to do a deal towards the end of January, which would give Owen time to prove his fitness.
Newcastle will be without Obafemi Martins during the African Nations Cup next month and will need a ready-made replacement.
Crucially, Allardyce has been told he has little cash for transfers during the January window and will have to generate his own finance. If he can find a buyer for Owen, he will be given the funds for new players.
Owen's miserable injury record has contributed to Newcastle's disappointing form over recent years and former manager Sir Bobby Robson will tonight stir the pot further by claiming the club's problems can be traced back to his departure from St James' Park.
Robson was in charge for five years before being sacked after a poor run of results at the start of the 2004-05 season.
Graeme Souness and Glenn Roeder followed but failed to live up to expectations and now Allardyce, appointed in the summer, is the latest to feel the pressure.
'I took the club over when it was bottom of the league and in the last three years I was there it was third, fourth and fifth,' said Robson, 74, in an interview to be shown on on Setanta's Friday Football Show.
'We were in the top five for the last three years. I lost my job rather abruptly, I couldn't believe it. I didn't lose two consecutive matches and I lost my job, it was crazy. Without being egotistical, the club has suffered ever since.'
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