By Nick Raynor
September 1 2005

England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has said that Micheal Owen will be a Newcastle United goalscoring legend.

Owen signed for Newcastle United in a move which has shocked the footballing world, for a figure believed to be in the region of £16 million.

 

And Eriksson believes this a good move for Owen, England AND Newcastle, especially as the 25-year-old will get first-team football, a necessity ahead of the 2006 World Cup.

 

Eriksson said:

 

"As long as Michael is happy, it's good for him and for England. When he saw that Real were buying new strikers, he got worried,

 

"At the end of the season, he sees the World Cup, which he wants to take part in and should take part in. Knowing that he might play once every third month or so, that worried him a lot.

 

"If he'd never played, it would have created a huge problem for me as well. On one hand, you want to have Michael Owen in the team as you know he will score goals.

 

"On the other hand, if he is never playing football, it would be very difficult though. But now I don't have to worry about that.

 

"I'm sure he's very hungry. He was very good for England last season and if he can repeat that or be even more important, I should be very happy.

 

"He can be the next legend up there as a centre-forward, like Jackie Milburn, Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Shearer.

 

"It's a huge challenge for him, taking Newcastle into Europe next season. But if your name is Michael Owen, you always have pressure on you when you go out onto the pitch as people always expect you to score.

 

"That's his own fault as he's scored so many goals! But you know that you will never have a problem with Michael Owen. He never asks for anything special, he's not a diva or prima donna at all."

 

“You can't expect Michael Owen to win balls in the air against big centre-backs. But he's one of the best goalscorers that you can find.

 

"His record says everything. He's a great player and he still had a fantastic goalscoring record for Real last season.

 

"But I think it's a very good move for him as big-name players don't like to sit on the bench. He's never done it in the past since he was 17 or 18, so I think he's happy now.

 

"It might even be good, with him not playing in Europe this season, as he won't play as many games as the other players. He'll be fresh in June next year hopefully."