Source: Telegraph
Hull City manager Phil Brown confirms interest in Newcastle United's Michael Owen
Brown is hoping to open talks with Owen this week and knows that he will have to make the striker the highest paid player in the Yorkshire club's history.
That would mean the injury-prone Owen being paid in excess of the estimated £45,000 per week paid to Jimmy Bullard following his club-record £5million move from Fulham last January.
Owen, 29, is currently paid £115,000 per week at Newcastle but Hull's hopes of putting together an attractive package will be boosted by his availability on a free transfer after confirming he will leave St James' Park in the near future.
Brown has promised that Hull will do their utmost to tempt Owen to head to east Yorkshire.
"Breaking the bank is not a term the chairman would be keen on but Owen's certainly someone you would push the boat out for," Brown said.
"The added value of him is that he's come to the end of his contract and he's free.
"He's a world-class international footballer but, for whatever reason, there's been a lot of documentation about injuries and being unable to fulfil contracts because he can't get on the field of play.
"As far as I'm concerned, with a good pre-season under his belt, he's still a quality player. If I could sit around the table with Owen I would be interested in doing that.
"It would be exciting to get someone through the door who could possibly score you 15 or 20 goals a season — that would be a fantastic achievement."
Owen has been heavily linked with Everton but Brown is still expecting to open negotiations with the former Liverpool and Real Madrid player's agents.
"We will be speaking to Michael's representatives within the week," Brown added.
"I would think he would have a number of offers and we'll have to be competitive.
"But I wouldn't sit down with him if I thought I was wasting my time. Anything is possible in football."
Brown is confident Owen's decision will be determined by other considerations rather than just money.
"I don't think Michael will go for the best financial offer, I don't think it's about that for him at this stage of his career, he'll want the best offer for his future," Brown said.
"He needs to spend a high percentage of next season's games at the highest possible level and that's where we can come in."
