Owen to United? Everyone's a winner.

With Michael Owen at United's Carrington training ground seemingly completing his summer move from Newcastle to Manchester, the critics are in full force. Many see the former England hitman as past his best and too much of a gamble with his apparent demand of sky-high wages and his injury proneness, but who's to argue against Sir Alex Ferguson's nouse in the transfer market?

Owen may have lost a yard or so of his youthful acceleration, but given the chances he would get with good supply from midfield (something that Newcastle were in desperate need of), surely Owen's coolness in front of goal would bag him at least as many as Carlos Tevez's 5 Premier League goals.

Money was a large issue with many other top-flight clubs that have tracked Owen since his contract came to a close in the north-east, with former Tyne-side boss Sam Allardyce rulling out an attempt to take Owen to Blackburn Rovers this summer. However, given the £80 departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Man Utd have the funds to take a gamble on Owen, whose demands would probably be significantly lowered with the lure of Champions League football and the prospect of his first Premier League winners medal. I could imagine the wages United will save on Ronaldo next year would add up to more than they will end up paying for both Owen and Luis Antonio Valencia over the coming year.

United may not use Owen as a first team starter, but he would probably have a lot less complaints than Tevez about being left out of the first eleven and doing his job as a squad player. Owen has always been a team player, with many critics disliking his apparent dullness and lack of controversy, attributes that are seen in most players that last at Old Trafford.

Even England may profit from Owen's return to a top four club. His chance to build a flourishing partnership with Wayne Rooney at club level will significantly aid his international opportunities, which have been limited under Italian boss Fabio Capello. A classy poacher may be the difference at the World Cup, and with a confident Michael Owen on form, and fairly fresh from not playing every minute of the season at a struggling club, England could have a secret weapon.

All I can see from Owen's prospective transfer to Man Utd is an indian summer for a player i've always admired. Service will prove the difference, as the only club he hasn't performed to his potential at has been Newcastle, the only club he has played for who couldn't provide him with the killer pass as his colleagues at Liverpool and Real were able to. Injuries could prove a stumbling block, but it's not as if Mancheter United of all teams are lacking in depth, and they are too big a club to let an out of contract veteran demand any excessive wages. Im sure Ferguson, as with his brilliant capture of Henrik Larsson in 2006, will be laughing at the end of the season after Michael Owen's goals prove the difference between United and Liverpool next season.