Ferdinand: Owen will repay Magpies debt

Tyneside goalscoring legend Les Ferdinand believes England striker Michael Owen has every intention of repaying the club for sticking with him through his injury nightmare.

Former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd ended 10 years at the club last week after being removed by new owner Mike Ashley and claimed that Owen still had to repay his debt to the Magpies.

Shepherd bought Owen for a club record £16million from Real Madrid two years ago but the injury-hit striker has scored just seven goals in 13 starts on Tyneside.

Owen suffered a broken foot soon after arriving at the club and then sustained a serious knee injury while playing for England in the World Cup last year.

Newcastle collected £4million in compensation from the Football Association but recent talk has revolved around the possibility of Owen moving on.

The England international has a clause in his contract that allows him to go if another club makes a bid of £9.5million.

That buy-out clause ends tomorrow but former Newcastle goal ace Ferdinand reckons Owen will want to pay back the club and the fans with goals.

Ferdinand, who joined Newcastle for £6million in 1995 and went on to score 50 goals in 84 games for the Magpies, insists the England striker will be bursting to show what he can do.

Ferdinand, speaking at the launch of Setanta TV’s new sports channels, declared: “I think most players would say, ’I’m in a position where I’ve been at a club for two years and not played nowhere near as many games as I should have done and the club have looked after me pretty well.’

“Most players would want to give something back and I am sure that’s how Michael is thinking.

“Michael will score goals in the Premier League, especially if he is playing with the right strike partner.

“A fit Michael Owen, playing week-in and week-out, is always going to score goals. The supporters at Newcastle will be looking at him to see if he is giving his all.

“They will not question his pedigree – they know he can score goals – it’s whether they believe he’s giving the effort.”

But Ferdinand believes Owen has no better motivator than current Magpies boss Sam Allardyce.

Ferdinand briefly played under Allardyce during a spell at Bolton in the twilight years of a glittering career that brought him 149 Premier League goals - the fifth-highest tally.

And the former England striker says Allardyce is not afraid of harming reputations in order to get the best from them.

Ferdinand added: “It doesn’t matter who you are, Sam is not afraid to have a go at big personalities when he needs to.

“He will do that at Newcastle if and when he needs to. What Newcastle have needed is a manager with a big personality and Sam has that.”