Football
Reuters 19y

Soccer-Newcastle one of two Premiership sides to ask after Owen

By Simon Baskett

MADRID, Aug 8 - Newcastle United are one of two
Premier League clubs that Real Madrid say have made contact with
them with a view to signing England striker Michael Owen.

"We've had a discussion with Madrid, but we won't be
commenting further on any speculation," Newcastle chairman
Freddy Shepherd told the club's website on Monday.

Real Madrid Director of Communications Antonio Garcia
Ferreras told Reuters that two English teams had asked after
Owen, but added that Real were not trying to offload the player.

"We would be delighted if Michael decided to stay at Real,
but we also understand that in a World Cup year he wants and
needs to play as many minutes as possible," he said.

"It is now up to him to decide what he wants to do. There
have been offers all year for him, but at the moment there are
two Premier League clubs clearly interested in signing him."

Sources close to Real Madrid told Reuters that the second
English club that had shown "considerable interest" in Owen was
Manchester United.

But when asked about the reported move for Owen, a
Manchester United spokesman said: "There has been no contact
with Real Madrid."

The England striker joined Real from Liverpool for 8.0
million pounds (

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