Where Now For Michael Owen?

Being a man in my twenties, my earliest memories of England in a major international championship are of Euro '96, the year 'football came home' to our fair shores.

That England side boasted some exceptional talent; Steve McManaman, Darren Anderton, Paul Gascoigne and Teddy Sheringham - to name but a handful - had superb tournaments.

But the hero for the Three Lions was arguably Alan Shearer. The Newcastle United striker had endured a barren spell prior to the competition, but after finding the net in the opening group game against Switzerland, Shearer was in unstoppable form and picked up five goals in five games, before penalty shootout heartbreak saw England exit the Euros at the hands of Germany.

Fast forward two years to the World Cup of 1998 in France and Shearer finds himself out-scored over the course of England's stay in the finals by an 18-year-old upstart named Michael Owen.

Owen had worked his way through the ranks quickly at Liverpool and exploded onto the domestic scene, before announcing himself to the world with a sensational individual effort against Argentina.

Now, in 2009, Owen finds himself at relegated Newcastle - via Real Madrid - with Shearer as his manager (well, sort of).

It now seems as though neither Owen nor Shearer will remain at the club next season however, with Owen in particular set to leave in order to continue playing in the Premier League.

But, despite several reports of interest from clubs in the top flight, there is hardly a clamber for the forward's signature. One can only assume this is due to his injury-hit stay at St James' Park and his lack of goals at the back end of this season, when they were crucial to The Magpies' survival.

In spite of this, Owen's goal record speaks for itself. I checked his official website for confirmation of statistics, but the severe lack of updates means I've had to fall back on the unreliability of Wikipedia. At club level, Owen has made 322 appearances and scored 160 goals.

His wage demands are said to be a stumbling block, though surely the desire for a move back to the top flight will see Owen swallow his pride and lower his expectations to at least a managable extent.

So, a free transfer for a player who is astonishingly just 29, adamant he is not injury-prone and is of a proven high calibre.

Any interested parties, feel free to browse through his brochure.

For further reading on Michael Owen, have a read of Phil McNulty's excellent BBC Sport blog.