Jim White

Who would have imagined this?

Fri Jul 03 09:39AM

Sam Allardyce wouldn't touch him with a lengthy bargepole. Fabio Capello considers him entirely surplus to requirements. At Newcastle, the accountants have been desperate to get his enormous salary off the books before it drags the whole enterprise to the bottom of the Tyne.

Just about the only interest in securing his signature this summer had come from Stoke City. And yet, provided all goes well with his medical, today Michael Owen will be joining the Premier League champions. By five o'clock he will be a Manchester United player. How on earth did that happen?

Clearly Sir Alex Ferguson is a man buying on potential here, not recent history. Over the five years of his ill-starred, injury ravaged stay on Tyneside, Owen managed just 58 Premier League starts. He arrived from Real Madrid with a reputation as one of the most potent strikers in Europe, his signing a huge coup for the club. He leaves having seen his stock fall so low there was much talk in the papers that he would give up on football altogether and pursue full time his real interest in life, racing.

So what exactly is Ferguson doing? Does he really think that a ghost of a has-been is adequate replacement for those he has lost this summer? Will Owen - averaging a goal every fourth game for Newcastle and playing about as often as Led Zeppelin - really fill the boots of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, who between them accounted for more goals in the last two seasons than Owen made appearances?

As it happens, Owen is not as old as he seems. He may seem to have been around since Methuselah was a kid, but in fact he is 29, younger than Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Nicolas Anelka. For a finisher, that is not remotely close to geriatric. True, the searing pace that used to earn him his goals has largely gone, but this is not a stupid player. He will have learned to compensate. And, with his enormous reserves of self-confidence, he will be convinced an injury-free run is all he needs to show he has it still.

Which is presumably what Ferguson sees in him. He recognises that Owen has a point to prove, a reputation to restore. Plus, he knows the player's affection for the World Cup. With the tournament to take place next summer and with the England manager wholly agnostic, Ferguson appreciates that Owen's anxiety to prove himself could serve United's cause well. The only way Owen will be on the plane to South Africa is if he has the season of his life. And the season of Michael Owen's life is something every manager would wish to have in their armoury.

Besides, Ferguson has made signings like this before. Although his preference is to buy younger players of potential - Ronaldo being the most successful example of the policy - he has recruited older players when he feels his squad needs experience. Teddy Sheringham was two years older than Owen when he went to Old Trafford in 1997 and yet Ferguson extracted 156 appearances from him (one of which was rather crucial). Henrik Larsson, meanwhile, was 35 when he came for a short loan in 2007. And Ferguson was desperate for him to stay longer.

What's more, for a club of United's resources, signing Owen on a free transfer and a largely performance-related deal involving a relatively modest guaranteed wage is not as significant a gamble as some of the ones he has had on the race course. If it comes off, it will be the signing of the season. And if it doesn't, well if nothing else it will confirm the prejudice of most United fans: they never rated him in the first place.

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Jim White returns on Wednesday, July 15

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