Owen For Villa?

Owen, 28, is in the final season of his Toon contract and Mike Ashley snubbed the opportunity to tie him down to a new deal when they met in August.

Not only did he miss the boat when Owen agreed to put pen to paper, but he tried to off-load the England star on the final day of the transfer window.

Chelsea are ready to offer £5m for the striker in January, but that could spark a mountain of interest, and Villa allegedly want to be involved.