Owen warns Newcastle he may go as a free

MICHAEL OWEN has warned Newcastle United he will leave on a Bosman free transfer at the end of the season unless they improve their contract offer.

The England striker has told friends he wants to stay at St James' Park having been impressed by Kevin Keegan since the manager's return in January. But talks over a new deal, which began in May, have dragged on because the club are reluctant to match his wage demands.

Owen's €133,000-a-week contract has less than a year left to run and in January he will be able to open discussions with rival clubs about a free transfer next summer. Although the 28-year-old would rather stay at Newcastle, he knows he is likely to receive a larger wage offer elsewhere if he leaves on a Bosman and as a result he and his advisers are negotiating from a position of considerable strength.

Newcastle's owner, Mike Ashley, is keen to reduce wages but Owen does not see why he should take a pay cut after proving his worth with 10 goals in 19 games at the end of last season. The club, though, are mindful that their €20 million signing from Real Madrid has played only 47 games for them in three years because of injuries.

Keegan insisted in April that he regarded Owen's new contract as the club's most important signing of the summer but the matter has not been resolved, despite several meetings. Owen is keen to get something finalised after expressing his pleasure at life under Keegan.

"We had a good time of it last season, especially towards the end," he said yesterday. "There was a feelgood factor about the club and we were buzzing."

Meanwhile, the English Football Association has moved to clarify comments made by Fabio Capello to stress that the England coach is not intent on quitting after the 2010 World Cup. Capello, who has a contract to 2012, had been quoted in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica suggesting he would retire "having made an impact at a World Cup".

But an FA spokesman said: "Fabio just wishes to clarify that he did not mean he was planning to quit the England job after the World Cup. At the moment his full concentration is on qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and he is not thinking past that objective."

Scott Carson has set his sights on regaining his England squad place after ending a three-year spell as a "footballing nomad".

Carson was unveiled as a West Brom player yesterday following his €4 million move from Liverpool. The 22-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Aston Villa, was pilloried for his error in the Euro 2008 qualifier with Croatia at Wembley. He is hoping a fresh start will enable him to regain his place in the England set-up.

"I think I am good enough to get back in the England squad. Hopefully I can settle down and get a bit of consistency and then I will be looking to get back in."

Guardian Service