Owen medical key to incredible Man Utd move

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is insisting on a stringent medical for Michael Owen ahead of making the Newcastle United striker a sensational contract offer.

The Daily Mail says talks were understood to be continuing last night.

Ferguson believes the 29-year-old is a gamble worth taking if he can stay injury-free and return to the kind of goalscoring form that made him European Footballer of the Year in 2001.

It is believed Owen could be offered as little as £20,000 a week as a basic salary but with massive performance-related bonuses which could take him close to the £110,000 a week he was on at Newcastle.

There was thought to have been interest from Aston Villa and Everton, while Hull City manager Phil Brown made public his wish to lure Owen to the KC Stadium.

But agent Tony Stephens may have negotiated a dream move that could propel him back into the England squad in time for the World Cup. The move would be a free transfer as Owen's Newcastle contract expired on Wednesday.

Neither United nor Owen's management company WMG would comment last night, but there was a suggestion that a medical could be arranged for as early as today.

His medical record will be a worry, however, having gone down with injury or illness 16 times during his time at Newcastle. Within his first four months at St James' Park, Owen pulled a hamstring, strained his groin and broke a metatarsal. Having signed for a club record £16m, he made only 58 Premier League starts.