Five Cantonas

We were all a little surprised at the start of the summer when Sir Alex offered Michael Owen a new deal. It was generally assumed that he would be on his way, and a number of clubs make their interest known. However, he signed on for another year and, given his promising form this pre-season, could make a telling contribution to the team.

Javier Hernandez has picked up a knock in training and looks to be out for three to four weeks whilst he recovers. This would probably have been the case anyway given his exploits at the Gold Cup and Copa America this summer. That gives Michael Owen a golden opportunity, a golden month, to prove his worth to United.

Owen has contributed in fits and starts since arriving on a free transfer. No United fan will ever forget his winner against City in the 4-3 derby. He also netted an important equalizer against Aston Villa in the League Cup final, and has scored a Champions League hat-trick for us, albeit in a dead rubber against Wolfsburg.

However, he’s likely to be first reserve should Berbatov or Rooney not make the starting XI in August, and with Danny Welbeck and Kiko Macheda not far behind and with many years ahead of them, Owen cannot afford to fluff this chance.

If he gets a few goals and looks part of the team, then I think we’ll see a lot of Owen, both this season and beyond. If he struggles to make an impact, then our last memory of Owen in a United shirt could well be him being subbed off in favour of Chicharito.