by Ciggy » Thu Aug 25, 2005 12:15 am
From the Times.
LIVERPOOL’S prevarication over the purchase of Michael Owen could cost them a couple of million pounds. The Euro- pean champions remain favourites to sign the Real Madrid forward but Newcastle United may have driven the price up yesterday when, in a move that surprised and annoyed Owen’s advisers, they attempted to ambush his return to Anfield by offering £16 million.
The England striker remains hopeful of a move back to Liverpool but he will require more of the patience that has served him so well during his year in Spain. No offer for Owen is expected from Merseyside until after tomorrow’s European Super Cup in Monaco and Rick Parry, the chief executive, may find Real greedy for more than the £11 million or so that Liverpool had hoped to pay to bring the forward home.
What was already a difficult set of negotiations for Tony Stephens, Owen’s agent from the SFX organisation, became even more complicated when Newcastle leapt in with both feet yesterday. Owen and his representatives have emphasised to Real that they will consider only a loan move to St James’ Park and so the revelation that Newcastle had made a club record bid — some sources claimed it was as high as £18 million, £3 million more than they paid for Alan Shearer — was unwelcome for the England player even if it delighted the board at the Bernabéu.
Real were more than happy formally to accept the offer and they will now use it as a lever when Liverpool come to the negotiating table. The fear for Owen must be that Liverpool, having sold him for £8 million last year, will refuse to be drawn into a bidding contest but he will dig his heels in if Real refuse to accept a profitable offer from Anfield.
“I said that my ideal situation was to start the season in the Real Madrid first team and if not I would prefer to return to Liverpool,” he said in a statement yesterday. “The president understood me and said he would try to help me achieve this. If the transfer cannot be finalised in time I have agreed to go to Newcastle United but only on a one-year loan. I need to be playing regularly in World Cup year.”
It would not be the first time that Newcastle had acted as the catalyst for an England striker’s transfer. Their bid for Wayne Rooney last summer forced Manchester United to make their move for the then Everton forward 12 months earlier than they would have liked.
Frustrated by Owen’s insistence that he would consider a move to the North East only if a move to Liverpool fell through — and under pressure from the supporters because of a poor start to the season — Freddy Shepherd, the chairman, tried to force the issue with an offer beyond even Real’s highest expectations but advisers are insistent that he will not be forced into a permanent move to Tyneside, however much that may suit his present employers.
Despite repeated assertions from Rafael Benítez that a centre back and right winger are his priorities, the Liverpool manager knows that Owen would improve his side. He has already sold Milan Baros to Aston Villa to help to make room for Owen, 25, and the Spaniard is also willing to listen to offers for Djibril Cissé, who was bought by Gérard Houllier, his predecessor, for £14 million.
Liverpool plan to leave their move for Owen until the last minute. The Kop would certainly welcome back a player who scored 158 goals in 297 games in his first spell. He grabbed 16 goals in a difficult first season in Spain, and there are not high hopes that Fernando Morientes, Peter Crouch or Cissé can be relied upon as regular scorers.
Meanwhile, Owen fits and frets in Spain. He may sit on the bench when Real begin the league season away to Cadiz on Sunday but he will hope to be pulling on the familiar red of Liverpool after the international break next week
There is no-one anywhere in the world at any stage who is any bigger or any better than this football club.
Kenny Dalglish 1/2/2011
REST IN PEACE PHIL, YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.