Mihir Bose in the Telegraph:
‘Manchester United have no plans to sign Michael Owen from Real Madrid, well-informed sources close to Old Trafford have told The Daily Telegraph. Despite fevered speculation that a deal to link up Owen with Wayne Rooney was inevitable, United have joined Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in ruling out a move for the unwanted England striker.’
The Guardian tells a different tale:
‘Michael Owen's hopes of returning to the Premiership now rest solely on Manchester United after Liverpool joined Arsenal and Chelsea in publicly declaring a lack of interest in the Real Madrid forward. The apathy has alarmed Owen and his representatives at the SFX agency, where there is a concern that the season will start with his future unresolved.
‘Owen is so desperate to return to England, and preferably the north-west, it is understood he would even entertain the idea of accepting a drop in wages and that will be used by his advisers when they try to get a definitive answer from Old Trafford this week. United are bargaining from a position of strength because they are the only English club with £10m to spare who might throw a consoling arm around Owen after what has been a turbulent few weeks for the England international.’