Magpies reject Owen clause talk
Michael Owen has had several injuries since joining Newcastle
Also In The News
|
A 24-year-old man has pleaded guilty to killing 59-year-old vicar Paul Bennett outside his church in south Wales. |  |
Wednesday, 17, Oct 2007 09:59
Newcastle United chairman Chris Mort has dismissed speculation suggesting that Michael Owen has a release clause in his current contract.
Rumours in the national press recently have suggested that the England striker can leave the club if a £6 million valuation is met by any club wishing to purchase the player next summer.
Owen joined the Magpies from Real Madrid for a club record fee of £17 million in August 2005, but has had a torrid time with injuries since his arrival on Tyneside.
However Mort rejected any suggestion Owen could be sold on within the next nine months for a massive loss, saying while this situation may have been a problem in the past it has now been resolved.
"There was a clause in Michael's contract which allowed him to leave for a certain fee during the last transfer window and the summer before that as well, but that sort of clause does not exist any longer," the Newcastle chief said.
"We want to see a fit Michael Owen scoring goals for Newcastle United for many years to come."
He added: "There is no nervousness here about his contract situation."
Since his arrival more than two years ago, Owen has made only 20 Premier League appearances for the club although he has a good scoring rate of nine goals in that time.
He is also only nine goals short of Sir Bobby Charlton's record tally of 49 goals for England ahead of the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Russia and Croatia this autumn and, assuming all goes well in these two matches, next summer's finals in Austria and Switzerland.