[Mighty T.A.L.]

Michael Owen's future looked more uncertain than ever yesterday after it was claimed that the England striker could leave Newcastle United next summer for a knock-down £6 million thanks to a get-out clause in his St James' Park contract.

The Manchester City manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, is reported to be ready to take advantage of the escape clause that Owen stipulated when he signed for Newcastle from Real Madrid in August 2005 in a £17 million transfer deal that brought him a four-year contract and an estimated wage of £120,000 per week.

There have been suggestions that Eriksson is prepared to wait until next summer, when the get-out clause is reactivated, though £10 million would apparently be enough to secure his services in the January transfer window rather than the £15 million City owner Thaksin Shinawatra was said to have been asked to pay.

Thanks to his get-out clause, Owen, who will be 28 in December, was available for £9 million during the last transfer window but his bad luck with injuries seemingly deterred would-be suitors, despite rumoured interest from Manchester United.

The get-out clause will become effective again on July 1 next year, at which time he will have roughly a year left on his current deal at Newcastle, where manager Sam Allardyce has publicly denied suggestions of a rift with Owen.

A source close to the club said: "The get-out clause that Michael Owen demanded when he signed for Newcastle will become active again next summer. Each year his value on the books is reduced and by next summer it will be in the region of £5 million to £6 million.

"That means that Manchester City or any other club can come in and trigger his release by matching that figure. Newcastle are powerless to stop him moving on.

"Manchester City wouldn't be his ideal choice, but none of the big four was interested in him this year.

"Newcastle would probably be wise to sell him in January if they could because they would obviously land a bigger fee. In any case, they dare not let him get into the final year of his deal without signing a new one because he could then leave for nothing on June 30, 2009."

David Beckham will launch his challenge for a place in England's Euro 2008 showdown with Croatia next month when he makes his LA Galaxy comeback on Thursday.

"I'm hoping to have some involvement in the games over the next week or so," said Beckham, who has had knee and ankle problems.

Chelsea's Scott Sinclair, Blues team-mate Ryan Bertrand, who is on loan at Oldham, and Andy Carroll, a Newcastle player presently on a short stint at Preston, have been sent home from the England Under-19s training base in Leeds after breaking a curfew imposed by coach Brian Eastick.

Source: Telegraph newspaper online