Rush leads calls for Red rover’s return from Real

LIVERPOOL legend Ian Rush wants the club to try to bring Michael Owen back to Anfield - and skipper Steven Gerrard would love to play club football again with his England colleague.

Liverpool have first option on the player they reluctantly sold to Real Madrid for £8million last summer, when the England striker’s contract was running down.

But Owen has struggled for a regular first-team place at the Bernabeu despite being Madrid’s top scorer this term in all competitions.

Last weekend, for the first time, he revealed his frustration at the situation.

That has prompted speculation that a summer swap with Arsenal’s homesick Spanish youngster Jose Antonio Reyes could be on the cards.

But Rush, writing in his Liverpool Echo column, claims that Liverpool should do all the can to bring Owen back home.

Rush had a similar experience in his own career when he returned to Liverpool after an unhappy spell with Juventus in 1988.

He said: “If Michael Owen considers returning to England at the end of the season, I’d be amazed if Liverpool didn’t do all they could to bring him back.

“Regardless of the fact that he’s a former player, whenever a striker of his quality becomes available, you want Liverpool to be competing for his signature.”

Owen’s return might convince Gerrard to ignore possible overtures from Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Gerrard, in Spain to play in a Tsunami appeal match, said: “Michael is world class.

“He is not getting many minutes on the field which is unfortunate because he deserves to play more. His goals-to-games ratio is fantastic.”

And Gerrard added he would be delighted to play again with Owen in the Premiership, saying: “Of course, I play with him at international level.

“Michael is a fantastic player to play with, although I am not sure what decisions he is going to make in his career.

“I love playing with Michael, he is a fantastic footballer.”