Newcastle chairman keen to extend Michael Owen's contract
Mort hopes Owen will commit himself to the Magpies
Wednesday, 09, Apr 2008 09:05
Newcastle chairman Chris Mort is keen to extend striker Michael Owen's contract during the summer.
Owen has often been linked with a move away from St James' Park after it emerged he had a release clause in his contract which would be triggered if another club met a specific fee.
Mort believes manager Kevin Keegan will want to keep the striker, who has been playing in a deeper role recently, and the chairman is planning talks with Keegan to discuss the status of current players.
Owen has two years to run on his contract and if Newcastle were to get maximum return on any sale it would have to be done this summer.
However, Mort thinks Owen's long term future remains in the north east.
He said: "I think all the players are enjoying playing under Kevin, you can see that in the way they play and I would imagine Michael's in that camp as well, he seems to be enjoying his game.
"He's got his contract this year and next year but it obviously makes sense to sit down with Michael and secure him for the long-term if we can."
Mort says Owen is not the only player he plans to talk to Keegan about but believes the former Real Madrid player's contract remains the priority.
He explained: "The first things we do is, again not talking about any players in particular, sit down with the manager and decide what the manager wants to do because he is the one who has to make the end decision on these things but I know that Kevin is very fond of Michael so I would hope we can sit down and do something."