MICHAEL OWEN’S confirmation he will leave Newcastle next month ended any lingering doubts about his future on Tyneside.

Owen has claimed the Premier League is “where I feel I belong” but whether many top flight clubs agree remains to be seen.

Hull City are prepared to offer the 29-year-old a £40,000 per week contract but Owen is thought to be waiting for an offer from a club of more established pedigree although he made clear his desire to remain in England.

Owen’s four years at Newcastle won’t be regarded by either party as a runaway success where, despite scoring at a rate of just over once every two and half games, he rarely justified the £16m fee paid to bring him from Real Madrid.

In a rare public statement, Owen revealed his current contractual position.

“I’ve still got weeks, a month or whatever left, I’m not sure, so that’s where I am at the minute. I don’t think I’m going to be re-signing at Newcastle,” he said.

“I don’t think they are going to offer me a contract and I would prefer to play in the Premier League or a top division somewhere else. There are plenty of clubs who would interest me, but we will see where that is, whether that’s home or abroad.

“There has been a lot of interest from abroad, and quite a bit from at home as well.

“Obviously, the Premier League is where I feel I belong.

I played a year out in Spain and enjoyed it at Real Madrid, but it definitely confirmed to me that I prefer the Premier League. So if it was to be a good English club, that would be my preference, but I have had quite a lot of interest from abroad, so I wouldn’t rule that out.”

Asked about Hull’s interest, Owen added: “I’ve not been made aware of that, it must have been this morning. It’s quite a new one. I’ve been linked to just about every team in the last few months.

“I’ve had four enjoyable years there so I wouldn’t like to be talking about specific clubs I might be joining while I’m still at Newcastle.

“There’s been a lot said and written about me over the last few weeks and not many nice things.

“I’ve got skin thicker than 99.9 per cent of the population and I have got used to it, I don’t know why you should get used to it. I suppose I have.

“People write you off but when I scored a goal in the World Cup as an 18-year-old people were writing me off saying I was a one-off. I score a hat-trick against Germany in Munich and win five trophies in a year with Liverpool.

“ I’ll come back. Yes I’d prefer people to say nice things about me, it’s not like I’ve murdered anyone. You’ve got to be thick-skinned I suppose.”