KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Michael Owen to Man Utd

Five live have just had a bookie on as the odds on Michael Owen moving to Manure have moved from 20-1 to 5/2 favourites today.

He said they'd received a number of bets today although not massive bets...and it doesnt take much to move the market when few people are betting...

still can't see it - his dad has apparently been telling everyone that michael will be joining everton ..... he has a big gob after a few bevvies does terry lol

The Guardian say Owen to have a medical at Old Toilet. If he goes, then he is truly dead in our eyes. All he cares about is his England place.


Michael Owen on verge of shock move to Manchester United

• 29-year-old could have medical today
• United hope striker can rebuild career with champions

Michael Owen has not scored since January but his free-agent status would make a move to Manchester United straightforward.

Michael Owen is on the verge of an astonishing move to Manchester United to supply some of the goals that have been lost in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez leaving Old Trafford. Owen, recently linked with Stoke City and Hull City and written off in many quarters as a has-been, was holding talks with the Premier League champions and will complete one of the most unexpected transfers of the summer if he passes a stringent medical examination.

That is expected to take place today when, if everything goes according to plan, United hope to announce they are willing to take on a striker whose career had seemed to be in an irreversible tailspin. Owen is a free agent after coming to the end of his contract at Newcastle United and his stock has fallen so much over a dismal season that, until now, he has been linked only with clubs in the lower half of the Premier League table.

Owen even faced the ignominy this week of the Blackburn Rovers manager, Sam Allardyce, saying he would not try to sign him because the former Liverpool and Real Madrid player could not be guaranteed to play 30 games a season. Sir Alex Ferguson, however, appears to be untroubled by the forward's various injury problems and is keen to reunite him with Wayne Rooney, his former strike partner for the England national team until Fabio Capello decided that Owen was no longer worthy of a place in the squad. Everton have been monitoring Owen's potential availability but were informed that they had effectively been gazumped.

The transfer is likely to prompt a mixed reaction among United supporters given Owen's past with Liverpool and, more pertinently, the fact that he has become recognised as a player on the wane.

Owen scored 30 times in 65 starts for Newcastle, but he cost them £41m in total when putting together his wages and his transfer fee, and was dropped by the club's interim manager, Alan Shearer, during the run-in to their relegation. He has not scored since January and, as his reputation has plummeted, his representatives appeared to have had so little confidence in finding a major club that would be willing to sign him they produced a 32-page brochure to persuade prospective buyers that he was worth a punt.

Ferguson is unlikely to have needed a glossy supplement, however, to know all about Owen's ability, having closely followed his career since the player was at school. Liverpool got in ahead of United after Ferguson could not arrange a deal with the player's father, Terry, and sources close to the Old Trafford manager have indicated that he has always regarded Owen as one that got away.

Even so, it represents a significant gamble on the part of Ferguson given the way Owen, at 29, has become more synonymous with injuries and high wages than the goals that once made him one of the more feared strikers in European football. There have also been misgivings about Owen's commitment to his professional life, with the Wigan chairman, Dave Whelan, recently questioning whether the player was spending too much time indulging his love of horse racing.

None of these concerns appears to have registered with Ferguson, though, as he contemplates rebuilding his frontline in the aftermath of Ronaldo's £80m transfer to Real Madrid and the Manchester City-bound Tevez severing his ties with Old Trafford. Karim Benzema, the France international striker, has moved to Real Madrid and United have ruled out other attackers such as Samuel Eto'o and Franck Ribéry because of a long-term decision not to sign players aged 26 or older for large fees because of the way their potential sell-on transfer values would then drop.

United are so determined to keep to this rule that Dimitar Berbatov, who was 27 when he signed from Tottenham for £30m last September, has been described as the "last of his kind", but Owen's situation, as a free agent, means these restrictions do not apply. He is clearly intent on showing that he can still play at the highest level judging by his comments last week. "I've got skin thicker than 99.9% of the population and I have got used to it," he said. "I'll come back. I'll play well and score goals once more." Few could have imagined him doing so in a Manchester United shirt.

Disgraceful! Goes to show he has no loyalty at all! Going to one of our biggest rivals and hell warm the bench there!! Could have gone to Hull because they wanted him, would get more game time and probably be good for him!

doesnt surprise me really, he's always looked after no1. still i always had respect for him out of what he did for us BUT....
if true hope he's plagued with injuries for the rest of his career.

GOD, HE HAS MADE SOME AWFUL CHOICES IN HIS CAREER....... WHO WAS GIVING HIM ADVICE?

And some people call this shithouse a legend what a horrible man owen is this move to united just somes this fella up , he doesn't deserve a move to man utd or any other top club , but this move is not for man utd even though they will benefit from it its foe owen to get back in the england team which since day one in his liverpool career has been his one and only love .

Bit harsh that, Lemon'.

As much as I'm annoyed and p.d. gutted that he seems to be 'smelly Old Toilet' bound, I can possibly understand why.
The burst beetroot faced one will possibly use him....subject to him being fit enough that is...on a more regular basis than any other top 4 team, and let's face it, playing for a top 4 team is the only possible chance he may have of ever playing for the national team in his 'last chance world cracked crappy cup'footie game tournament thing next year.

IF he'd come to LFC again, he'd have had to have major surgery to reshape his arse to fir in either the Crouch or Keane moulded section of the bench.

I still feel however, that our wonderous leader should have grabbed him on a freebie and minimal wages, and if he proved to be a duffer, he could have at least farmed him out for a couple of million in Januray or May 2010

This post can no longer be edited because the maximum edit time has expired.

What? 2 minutes?

I was just going to add 'fir' should read fit, and also that IF he stays fit, IF, then I fear due to the fact that he'll be receiving marginally better service from midfield than he ever did at NUFC, he'll start banging the goals in again.

I really can't bear the thought of him possibly holding a PL or CL medal in ten months time, and let's face it, there is more possibilty of him doing that now than any other time in his career so far if he slithers off to them.

I agree with growler, we are looking for a cheap striker, he would fit the bill.

However If/when he goes it'll be a good 'buy' for Man U and good luck to the lad, (he's still the only natural english finisher out there) I hope he stays fit too for Englands sake.

Obviously Like all Liverpool fans I'll have a bad feeling about it in my gut if he does go to the Mancs but I'll get over it. Its not like we bid for him, if we had and he joined Man U that would be different. So why should he owe us anything?

so who are we suppose to hate now? man u? owen? or rafa for not trying to make a go at owen?