Manchester United Forums - United Zone

Red Devil · 07-02-2009, 07:05 PM

From SSN transfer clockwatch,
Sky Sports | Football | Transfer Centre | Clockwatch | Latest Transfer News

Quote:

14.54 Sky Bet has revealed there has been a major plunge on Michael Owen joining Manchester United on a free transfer. His odds on moving to Old Trafford have been cut from 20/1 to 7/4, with Sky Bet's Mike Triffitt saying: "With Real Madrid hoovering up several high profile targets, United are running out of options to fill the void left by the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez and Owen is a cheap option. We've had a steady stream of bets on free agent Owen joining United today. A move to United should suit Owen, who wants to get back into the England squad and will feel he has a better chance with a higher profile club."

Lost Ronaldo, 'lost' Benzema and to add insult to injury, we're signing Michael Owen?

This reminds me of City almost signing Kaka but getting Bellamy instead.

I will cry if this deal goes though.

red_devil_lad · 07-02-2009, 07:18 PM

PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS A JOKE, OWEN 2 UNITED NO WAY FERGIE, THIS WOULD BE A MASSIVE MISTAKE
NO PACE ANYMORE
INJURY PRONE
i hope it doesnt go through

Cali Red · 07-02-2009, 07:32 PM

On a free? Whats the harm? I'd take a chance. Just make sure his addition is on top of whatever else we're planning to do.

simonhla · 07-02-2009, 08:13 PM

Only on a pay-as-you-play deal.

As a squad player he could be useful and I think it would be foolish to write him off already. He's been written off a few times and proved people wrong.

BUT..........Serious, serious doubts remain.

I think he could actually prove to be a valuable mentor to young strikers Welbeck and Macheda. Especially the former. He has done it at the highest level many times after all.

Welbeck is the future of Utd. I think he'll be immense for us.

tommy · 07-02-2009, 09:35 PM

Oh dear god no, we cannot expect to lose CR and CT and get this useless sick note in and be happy about it. I am fearful for us this season in Europe unless
we get a quality striker in and this person who even big Sam wont touch is not the answer

**praj** · 07-02-2009, 09:36 PM

Who's next?? Maybe we're desperate enough to ask Shearer to come out of retirement..

This is f*cking ridiculous... I hope this was somebody's idea of a joke over at Skybet...

losangeles · 07-02-2009, 10:09 PM

I'll take him as an extra depth option if the price is verty low, and I think it would be. If we get him at a low salary then he will add strength to us... though, I'm not crazy about buying Liverpool players and he certainly has a big potential downside.

The bottom line to me is I think the price will be absolutely minimal and the potential benefit is well worth it... of course, we will also need a really good young striker to go with him, but apparently the plague has struck greater Manchester and nobody wants to sign for us anymore.

Cali Red · 07-02-2009, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by losangeles

I'll take him as an extra depth option if the price is verty low, and I think it would be. If we get him at a low salary then he will add strength to us...

Exactly. Offer him a low salary. He'd probably jump at the chance to play for a team that is involved in every major tournament. I'm not saying rely on him as a replacement for Tevez, I'm saying add him as depth. Owen can still score goals I'd bet. You just can't count on his health.

murph99 · 07-02-2009, 11:01 PM

Not what everyone hoped for but can't see the harm in signing him on a pay per play basis. These things rarely work out though, Saha is on a similar deal at Everton. Sir Alex could bring him back to his best and that would be a big asset to our squad if it works out. He's got experience of playing with Rooney and I think he could also play with Berbatov which could be an interesting option / mix up front.

Bottom line......No big names / Proven strikers want to come to us. We have Macheda and Wellbeck who we need to use more next year, we may as well sign owen and see how it unfolds for a season.

simonhla · 07-03-2009, 12:20 AM

Guys....it's official. Barring a tough, tough medical Michael Owen will be a Manchester Utd player in the next 24 hours. I never imagined we would be swapping Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez for Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen this summer. I have to slap myself to check i'm not dreaming. So very, very weird and so very, very unexpected. This is one of those moves that is going to go down as genius or total joke.

At the end of the day Rooney/Berbatov will be the first choice pair and Owen will be happy to sit on the bench. If he scores 10 to 15 Premier League goals for us next year we should all be happy. The Lord [Ferg] moves in mysterious ways! I don't honestly see us as any worse off swapping Tevez for Owen given how minimal CT's contribution was last year.

I'm waiting with baited breath to hear Fergie explain this one to the fans. I predict a lot of mental knee jerk reactions. Owne will give us something we don't have. A poacher and genuine natural goal scorerer. He'll also provide valuable mentoring to Wellbeck and Macheda as well as be contented being part of squad rotation. Given we will play one or at most two strikers at any given time this kinda makes sense.

Now lets hope we get attention turned to the midfield. In fergie we must trust.

The prospect of Owen moving to Old Trafford was floated by The Independent yesterday, after United's pursuit of Benzema came to nothing

Quote:

Michael Owen is expected at Manchester United for a medical examination this morning ahead of what would be an extraordinary move, taking him from the wilderness of relegated Newcastle to the Premier League champions.

Owen is expected to have signed within the day for a manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who admired him when he was a youngster at Liverpool and would like to have signed him then. It is unclear how much Owen will earn or if, as seems likely, his salary at United will be highly incentivised, with Ferguson presumably harbouring the same concerns as several other Premier League managers – that after four years of persistent injury at St James' Park Owen may lack the physical durability to play a role at Old Trafford.

United's move for the 29-year-old has been a rapid one, born out of a dismal summer in which they have lost their most significant player to Real Madrid and been beaten to their prime transfer target by the same club. United have definitely been in contact with Lyons about their 21-year-old striker Karim Benzema in recent days, only to see Real steal him from under their noses in Wednesday's €35m (£30m) deal.

United's interest in Owen pre-dates the bid for Benzema. They are known to have received the 34-page promotional brochure produced by Owen's representatives and there has been interest in the qualities of the player it has raised. Contrary to reports at the time, Ferguson was not interested in signing Owen when he left Real Madrid four years ago, despite the best efforts of his representatives at that time. But now, United are in dire need of support for Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney and appear to believe that Owen – a free agent since his contract at Newcastle ran out – could be a valuable impact player, perhaps arriving from the bench in the way that Carlos Tevez did last season.

While managers such as Blackburn Rovers' Sam Allardyce have said that Owen and his injuries constitute too great a risk, United will not be hurt by the relatively modest salary which he might accept. He rejected a four-year contract at Newcastle in April, believed to be around £90,000 per week, to trigger his departure from the club. But it has been apparent that he might be willing to accept as little as £40,000 a week to continue his Premier League career and rekindle the success of his eight years at Liverpool, when he scored 118 goals in 216 appearances before leaving for the Bernabeu in 2004.

The prospect of Owen moving to Old Trafford was floated by The Independent yesterday, after United's pursuit of Benzema came to nothing, and the odds on Owen moving to Old Trafford shortened rapidly from 20-1 to an astonishing 7-4 by early afternoon. Though Ferguson and his chief executive, David Gill, have a broad understanding that they will not spend big on players under the age of 26, there will be no major outlay on Owen – for whom the move would also offer the prospect of a working life near to his base at Hawarden, on Deeside.

United's other buying options are scant. The obvious available big name contenders are Internazionale's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, rarely a player who has fired against the physical presence of English sides, and perhaps Samuel Eto'o. There were suggestions from Spain yesterday that Eto'o would be keen to sign for United for less than the £200,000 a week Manchester City are offering, though Ferguson's general inclination to go for players aged 26 or under would appear to rule out the 28-year-old – as does his commitment to Cameroon's African Nations Cup campaign in January.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...r-1729588.html

Two final words for every one to remember before they crap all over the logic of this transfer;

Sheringham and Larsson