Newcastle one of two Premiership sides to ask about Owen

Newcastle United are one of two Premier League clubs that Real Madrid say have made contact with them with a view to signing England striker Michael Owen.

"We've had a discussion with Madrid, but we won't be commenting further on any speculation," Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd told the club's website yesterday.

Real Madrid Director of Communications Antonio Garcia Ferreras told Reuters that two English teams had asked about Owen, but added that Real were not trying to offload the player.

"We would be delighted if Michael decided to stay at Real, but we also understand that in a World Cup year he wants and needs to play as many minutes as possible," he said.

Sources close to Real Madrid told Reuters that the second English club that had shown "considerable interest" in Owen was Manchester United.

But when asked about the reported move for Owen, a Manchester United spokesman said: "There has been no contact with Real Madrid."

The England striker joined Real from Liverpool for £8.0 million last August, but spent most of the first half of the season on the bench. Owen still finished the season with a total of 16 goals in all competitions.

"Real Madrid phoned my advisers last Sunday afternoon and made the point that the arrival of Robinho and Julio Baptista made no difference to me," Owen said in his column in The Times yesterday.

Owen said that he had always planned to return to England at some time, but insisted that he did not regret making the decision to leave Liverpool last season.

"Regardless of what happens this summer, I would like to return to the premiership one day," he said.