Michael Owen ... not getting much time on the field for Stoke City at the moment. Source: AAP
Former Liverpool and Manchester United star Michael Owen is the next big name linked to Perth Glory as owner Tony Sage looks to turn the club into a western football mecca.
It was Sage who first chased David Beckham's signature halfway around the world after the former Manchester United star called time on his stint with LA Galaxy.
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central Coast | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 33 |
| 2 | Adelaide | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 29 |
| 3 | Victory | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 26 |
| 4 | Western Sydney | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 23 |
| 5 | Perth | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 19 |
| 6 | Heart | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | -2 | 18 |
| 7 | Brisbane | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 17 |
| 8 | Newcastle | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | -9 | 17 |
| 9 | Wellington | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 16 |
| 10 | Sydney | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | -14 | 14 |
But with Beckham cool on the idea of spending the back end of a scorching summer in WA, the Perth businessman has now turned his attention to bringing Owen, a former England striker, to the A-League.
The vacancy for an international player came about after English-born former Ireland under-21 Billy Mehmet was cleared by Glory late last week to switch to the Bangkok Glass club in the Thai Premier League.
Mehmet, who scored 10 goals in 42 appearances, never really enjoyed playing second-fiddle to Shane Smeltz.
Sage has the money to lure Owen, as he did with his former Liverpool teammate Robbie Fowler two years ago, and, as an international marquee signing, the money falls outside the salary cap.
Owen is on the books at Stoke City, the Staffordshire club that was once touted as the future home of Harry Kewell after he returned to England after a year-long stint with the Melbourne Victory.
But Stoke manager Tony Pulis has used Owen sparingly since he moved out of Old Trafford after three injury-ravaged seasons playing under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Owen has made just four appearances as a substitute in the Barclays Premier League, for a grand total of 53 minutes playing time.
Owen did get a start alongside fellow England international Peter Crouch in the FA Cup third-round fixture against Crystal Palace over the weekend, before being taken off after 54 minutes.
One would question Sage's reasoning behind risking a visa spot to an ageing striker who has played just 109 minutes of football in six months.
"Perth is interested but are yet to find out Michael's terms and conditions," said Glory spokesman Steve Nelkovski.
"Until these are known, Perth Glory will not enter any further negotiations."
Smeltz welcomed news of Owen being linked to a move to Perth.
"It's fantastic to have a player of Michael Owen's quality linked to this club," he said.
"He's the sort of player who would fit in and do a very good job."
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