Michael Owen was today undergoing a stringent medical before completing his free transfer to Manchester United.
The former England striker, whose contract with Newcastle expired on Wednesday, is on the brink of a sensational move to United after accepting the terms of a pay-as-you-play one-year deal with the champions.
Talks were understood to have been continuing last night and the 29-year-old, who made his name playing for United's arch-rivals Liverpool, was pictured arriving at the champions' Carrington training complex this morning.
Ferguson believes the 29-year-old is a gamble worth taking if he can stay injury-free and return to the kind of goalscoring form that made him European Footballer of the Year in 2001.
It is believed Owen could be offered as little as £20,000 a week as a basic salary but with massive performance-related bonuses which could take him close to the £110,000 a week he was on at Newcastle United.
It has been a difficult time for Owen. Dropped from the England squad by Fabio Capello and the captain of the woeful Newcastle side who were relegated at the end of last season, he was ridiculed recently when his management company advertised his credentials in a brochure sent to a number of clubs.
There was thought to have been interest from Aston Villa and Everton, while Hull City manager Phil Brown made public his wish to lure Owen to the KC Stadium.
But agent Tony Stephens may have negotiated a dream move that could propel him back into the England squad in time for the World Cup.
The move would be a free transfer as Owen's Newcastle contract expired on Wednesday.
Neither United nor Owen's management company WMG would comment last night, but it is believed he is travelling to Manchester today for a medical, having
already undergone an assessment of his troublesome knee yesterday.
The move failed to impress United fans, particularly after the club said they had received £80million in a single payment from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo and they had been linked to the likes of Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema.
The Republik of Mancunia website, under the heading ‘God No, Not Michael
Owen’, lists 10 reasons why the club
should not sign him.
One fan wrote: ‘Not in a million years. I’d rather bring Bellion back . . . than have Michael “I’m a crocked scouse” Owen.’
But Owen has proved himself an excellent strike partner to Wayne Rooney with England and Ferguson clearly considers him a decent acquisition when the financial risk is so small. The United boss declined to move for Owen when the player left Real Madrid for Newcastle four years ago in a £16million deal.
His medical record will be a worry, however, having gone down with injury or illness 16 times during his time at Newcastle. Within his first four months at St James' Park, Owen pulled a hamstring, strained his groin and broke a metatarsal. Having signed for a club record £16m, he made only 58 Premier League starts.
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