Michael Owen would have stayed with Newcastle United if manager Kevin Keegan had not left the club.

A brochure distributed by his representatives to eight Premier League clubs claims Owen - now a free agent - was "days away" from signing a new long-term contract at St James's Park when Keegan quit last September.

The brochure says: "Michael has never been unsettled at Newcastle and never said he wanted to leave.

"Indeed his period under Kevin Keegan in 2008 was one of his happiest and most productive spells in football and he was within days of signing a contract which would have kept him at St James's Park for the rest of his career when Keegan left the club abruptly."

The brochure adds: "His {Owen's} belief in the potential management capabilities of his long-time friend Alan Shearer meant that he would probably have taken up the offer on the table to extend his contract at St James's Park had the club stayed in the top flight."