Keegan wants new contract for Owen

10:51am Monday 24th March 2008

WITH fresh talk resurfacing surrounding Michael Owen's future, Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan last night urged his bosses to act now and agree a new contract with the England striker.

Owen joined up with Fabio Capello's squad last night ahead of Wednesday evening's friendly in Paris fresh from scoring in back-to-back games for the Magpies.

The £16m man's goals against Birmingham City and Fulham inside six days have helped secure four vital points in Newcastle's attempts to climb away from the relegation zone.

And, although Premier League status has not been secured for another season just yet, there is a new wave of confidence around St James' Park that such a luxury can be claimed in the coming weeks.

Newcastle are six points clear of third from bottom Bolton with seven matches remaining and, on the back of Saturday's success over Fulham, Keegan has urged chairman Chris Mort and owner Mike Ashley to agree fresh terms with Owen.

"I've already started to say to the club that we should be talking to Michael now, not next week, not next month. But now,"

said Keegan. "I've never asked Michael whether he wants to stay. But I'm hoping the answer will be yes. If not, we've got another year of him next season and that's the very least we'll get.

"The time to talk with him is now and that's what I'll be urging the chairman to do. There hasn't been a reaction yet because I only mentioned it last week because I could see this coming.

"Michael's not going to stop scoring goals, he's not going to stop catching the eye and Michael is going to be wanted by other clubs. But at the moment he's here and it's just something that's come up now."

Given the persistent injury problems that Owen has had to emerge from since he signed from Real Madrid in August 2005, the cynics will point to his lack of appearances as a reason for not handing him fresh terms.

He is reputedly taking home £120,000-a-week, a figure that does not look good when he has made only 30 league starts in his two-and-a-half-years on Tyneside.

Nevertheless, despite his sporadic appearances, Owen has still averaged almost a goal every other game, with 13 goals from his Premier League outings from the first whistle.

His 83nd minute header against Fulham means he is now the club's top-scorer with eight this season and boasts a run of four in his last seven appearances.

Whether that is good enough to secure a starting berth against France for his country on Wednesday remains to be seen.

Keegan, though, believes his ratio illustrates why Newcastle should bend over backwards to keep him in the North-East.

"Why is it an urgent issue? Because I don't think that whatever finances are there, we'll go out and get a player that's any better than Michael Owen," said Keegan, knowing his skipper should also have scored a header in the first half but was denied by Fulham's Kasey Keller from close range.

"That's the reason I think we should keep him and as long as he doesn't get injured again, the Newcastle fans will see a player who'll grow into one of the greats here.

"I don't see why we should be looking all over the world for foreign players, and try to teach them how to play in the Premier League, when we've got one who knows his way around and whose goalscoring record is tremendous."

Keegan had no hesitation in appointing Owen as his captain when he took over the reins in mid-January.

And, 14 games after returning to the side after his latest injury, Owen's value to the Newcastle cause has not been under-estimated by his manager.

Keegan said: "I remember Johann Cruyff saying to me once, when I'm playing well, Johann Neeskens is the soldier and I'm the general.

"But if ever I have a day when I feel I'm not playing well, I say to Johann you be the general and I'll be the soldier'.

"Michael has been both a general and a soldier for us since I've been here.

"I made him captain. I think that was absolutely the right decision.

"He leads by example. His work rate is fantastic. He's fighting his way back from a bad injury, but doing it all in the right way, working hard and training extra and I think you're seeing him now absolutely at his peak after his injury."

Obafemi Martins, Owen's deputy on so many occasions, has had talks over a new contract but he is reluctant to sign in until he feels he is part of Keegan's plans.