New Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has hinted that he would like to sign Michael Owen from Manchester United.
Owen, 30, has struggled for first-team opportunities at Old Trafford and Houllier, who worked alongside the striker at Liverpool, has hinted at a possible move.
“He has always been in my thoughts,” Houllier told Canal+. “I like him, as a player and a man. I went to Liverpool on September 4 for Jamie Carragher’s testimonial, and I saw Michael play a half of football. He still has the legs for it.”
The remarks come on the same day that Owen spoke about his increasing disenchantent with life on the bench at Old Trafford. The striker joined on a free transfer in 2009 and he remains down the pecking order.
“You can only do your best and prepare and train well, so that you are ready when the manager calls on you,” Owen said. “After that, it’s up to the manager who he chooses.
“It sounds easy, but probably the most difficult thing is not playing for a couple of weeks and then all of a sudden getting called up and being mentally and physically right to perform well.
“At the end of the season, I’ll look and think, ‘Was I happy with the amount of games I was available for?’, ‘Did I score enough goals in the games when I played?’ and ‘Did I play well enough in those games?’
“You look at highlights of the season, did we win anything – things like that – but I wouldn’t put any goal or appearance totals out there because, at a club like this, you never know when the manager is going to use you.”
