Owen: Wants St James' Park stay

I've got this season left and we're working on a deal to stay longer.

Michael Owen
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Newcastle striker Michael Owen has revealed he has opened contract talks with the club.

Owen joined Newcastle in a £16million move from Real Madrid in 2005, but it has been rumoured that, with one year remaining on his contract, he could walk away from St James' Park.

A number of clubs have been linked with Owen and speculation even hinted that the England star could move to the Japanese J-League.

However, Owen has now confirmed that he is in discussions with the Magpies in an attempt to agree new terms and he expects a conclusion in the next couple of months.

Discussions

"We've just opened contract talks, we are talking," Owen told At The Races.

"I've got this season left regardless and we're working on a deal to stay longer.

"There'll probably be news in a month or two."

And Owen also expects Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan to begin work in the transfer market in the coming month as the club look to improve on last season's 12th-placed Premier League finish.

Signings

"We have got a lot of good players, but our squad wasn't the biggest last year," Owen added.

"We haven't got a massive squad. We don't want size for the sake of size, but we obviously want quality.

"No one has made any moves in the transfer market, hardly, yet. It always tends to happen later on in the summer.

"We will see who we let go, or who we buy. But obviously I am like any Newcastle supporter and want the better players to come and we don't want to lose our best players either."