Newcastle prepare Owen deal

ewcastle United are to sit down again with Michael Owen in a bid to thrash out a new contract for the England striker. The original deal offered to Owen was withdrawn on 1st January after he made it clear no decision would be made on his future until the summer.With Owen's existing contract at St James' Park due to expire at the end of the season it has come as little surprise a number of suitors are monitoring his situation closely.The likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa and Everton have all been credited with holding an interest, but Newcastle's managing director Derek Llambias has no intention of losing a prized-asset without a fight."We offered Michael a new contract and he has chosen to walk away and think about his future," he told the Evening Chronicle."It's not on the table any more after 1st January. But we'll be sitting down with him again soon and seeing what he wants to do."It's difficult - he's a goalscorer who has 10 already this season in the games he's played.Decision time"It's down to Michael. He's done his term here, and it was lucrative, but he's decided he wants to wait until the end of the season."So it's a case of watch this space."United are also thought to be keen to tie Habib Beye, Obafemi Martins and Damien Duff to fresh deals."We've done new contracts for (Steve) Harper, Shola (Ameobi) and Nicky Butt," he added."We're doing three more as well. We're constantly on the move with those, we're renewing contracts and we're reviewing our team all of the time."

Source: SKY_Sports