United to sign Owen on pay-per-play deal
Michael
Owen will join Manchester United today as long as he passes a stringent
medical – and accepts a massive cut in his basic salary by signing what
amounts to a pay-per-play deal.
FourFourTwo understands that the striker, a free agent since
his Newcastle contract lapsed on Tuesday, will be offered a contract
which handsomely rewards him for appearances and goals on top of a
drastically reduced basic wage.
Owen was paid £120,000 a week at St James' Park but his injury problems
mean he will get nowhere near that from his next club – whoever it may
be. Aston Villa, Stoke, Hull and Everton have been linked with moves,
with the Toffees said to be willing to pay £50,000 a week.
However, despite Owen's boyhood allegiance to Everton, David Moyes will
accept that the striker is far more likely to sign for Sir Alex
Ferguson. The Manchester United manager is a longterm admirer, having
tried to sign him as a boy, and is willing to take a relatively
low-risk gamble on reuniting Owen with former England partner Wayne
Rooney.
For his part, Owen has hardly been presented with a plethora of
top-class clubs interested in his services; two days ago, Blackburn
manager Sam Allardyce ruled out any possible move, citing worry over
Owen's recurrent injuries.
Given his lack of options, and the glorious possibilities offered by
joining a United team stripped of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos
Tevez, Owen should willingly submit to a radical new pay structure –
especially if it keeps him in Fabio Capello's thoughts during the
run-up to World Cup 2010.
And if Owen can rediscover the goalscoring form that so delighted
fans of Liverpool and Real Madrid, then the deal could work out very
well for player, club and country.
