Newcastle United applied a sharp increase in pressure on Michael Owen, Liverpool and Real Madrid yesterday. By making a club-record bid of between £16 million and £18 million, Newcastle hope to impress Owen with their sincerity and Real with hard cash. They also hope to make Liverpool reveal their intentions.
Should Liverpool try to re-sign Owen - the striker's stated preference if he has to leave Madrid - Newcastle hope they will have time before the transfer window closes on Wednesday to find a replacement. Their interest in Deportivo La Coruna's Albert Luque remains despite Newcastle and Deportivo both saying the opposite on Monday.
But if Liverpool signal that they cannot finance the Owen transfer, or if Rafael Benitez says definitively that he does not want the player, Newcastle will be the England player's only live option.
Owen, however, has already made public that he would consider moving to Tyneside only on a year-long loan. His desire not to join Newcastle is almost as strong as the club's to get him. Newcastle's tactic yesterday made no obvious business sense; it smacked more of a gesture of faith in the 25-year-old.
Owen left Anfield for £8 million this time last year and it is Liverpool's intention to pay no more than that sum should they bring him back. Real do want more than £8 million but Newcastle did not need to double the figure.
Should Newcastle fail to get Owen they are confident of buying Luque. Yet there is a difference in Newcastle's valuation of £7.5 million plus Hugo Viana and Depor's valuation of £10 million, a sticking point earlier in the week.
Perhaps as a consequence Tottenham's Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane was mentioned again, even though Newcastle's manager Graeme Souness has resisted moving for Keane despite encouragement from his board. Jermaine Jenas's position also remains uncertain. It is thought Newcastle could fund a deal for Owen only by selling the midfielder to Tottenham.
Newcastle's offer was accepted by Real, who consider a transfer far more appealing than any loan option, especially as there are obstacles that continue to bar the 25-year-old's move back to Anfield.
Liverpool essentially are short of funds to complete any transfer deal, with the £6 million raised by the sale of Milan Baros to Aston Villa this week earmarked to cover a proportion of Peter Crouch's £7-million transfer fee, as well as the down payments on the new centre half and right-sided midfielder considered to be priorities by Benitez.
Bolton's Stelios Giannakopoulos is expected to fill the midfield berth at a cost of around £1 million - "Our chief executive Rick Parry is talking with their chairman (Phil Gartside) about the possibility of a deal," said Benitez - though Liverpool's manager has yet to prise any of his six targeted central defenders from their clubs.
Until that situation is resolved, and with time ticking down to the deadline, he will not turn his attentions to bolstering his attacking ranks.
All of which leaves Owen in limbo with his preference clear but his future far less so. "I met the Real Madrid president (Florentino Perez) before Tuesday's friendly against the MLS All Stars at the Bernabeu and we discussed my future," said the striker, who has fallen further out of favour at Real after the summer purchases of the Brazil forwards Julio Baptista and Robinho. "I said that my ideal situation was to start the season in the Real Madrid team and, if not, I would prefer to return to Liverpool.
"The president understood and said he would try to help me achieve this. If the transfer cannot be finalised in time I have agreed to go to Newcastle United but only on a one-year loan. I need to be playing regularly in World Cup year. I am most grateful to Senor Perez for his personal concern about my career."
Meanwhile, Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has extended his Anfield contract until 2008. The 23-year-old full back has started the season in Benitez' first team and the club have moved to keep him on a long-term basis.
