Stoke city chairman Peter Coates has said that the club are trying to sign the former Manchester United and Liverpool striker Michael Owen, but the signing might take a little longer.
The 31-year-old former England international is a free agent after allowing his contract to run down from the Manchester club. He has already stated that he is not willing to go down the divisions as of yet because he still believes he can contribute at the top level. Even though Michael Owen was injured for most of the three seasons he spent at Manchester United, he had a tremendous goal record. It was an impressive record even for a player starting from the bench.
As a result, a number of clubs have shown interest in signing the former Newcastle United striker. It was revealed a few weeks ago that Stoke city were extremely close to secure his signature, but for one reason or the other, the signing has been delayed. Yet, Peter Coates has confirmed that the deal is not dead and buried. He hopes that the club will be able to confirm the signing of Michael Owen in the next few weeks. He has said that there is still a lot of time remaining to conclude the deal.
Stoke city manager Tony Pulis has said that he would be extremely delighted if the club were to secure the signing of Michael Owen, who is a proven goalscorer. Stoke city come the back of their inaugural season in the Europa league, but they will be without European football this season as a result of finishing in the bottom half of the table. Tony Pulis’ main priority will be to establish the Premier league status of the club. The arrival of Michael Owen is a significant step towards doing so.