Newcastle United are ready to revive their bid for Real Madrid striker Michael Owen.

The News of the World says Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd is waiting on news from Real Madrid over whether they will make Owen available in the summer market.

Shepherd is expected to be given the green light and will seek to clinch a deal worth around £18 million for Owen, who scored in Real's victory over Zaragoza on Saturday.

Newcastle could face competition from Arsenal and Chelsea and as both teams have Champions League football to offer, could be more tempting to the former Liverpool favourite.