Michael Owen is expected at Manchester United for a medical examination this morning ahead of what would be an extraordinary move, taking him from the wilderness of relegated Newcastle to the Premier League champions.

Owen is expected to have signed within the day for a manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who admired him when he was a youngster at Liverpool and would like to have signed him then. It is unclear how much Owen will earn or if, as seems likely, his salary at United will be highly incentivised, with Ferguson presumably harbouring the same concerns as several other Premier League managers – that after four years of persistent injury at St James' Park Owen may lack the physical durability to play a role at Old Trafford.

United's move for the 29-year-old has been a rapid one, born out of a dismal summer in which they have lost their most significant player to Real Madrid and been beaten to their prime transfer target by the same club. United have definitely been in contact with Lyons about their 21-year-old striker Karim Benzema in recent days, only to see Real steal him from under their noses in Wednesday's €35m (£30m) deal.

United's interest in Owen pre-dates the bid for Benzema. They are known to have received the 34-page promotional brochure produced by Owen's representatives and there has been interest in the qualities of the player it has raised. Contrary to reports at the time, Ferguson was not interested in signing Owen when he left Real Madrid four years ago, despite the best efforts of his representatives at that time. But now, United are in dire need of support for Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney and appear to believe that Owen – a free agent since his contract at Newcastle ran out – could be a valuable impact player, perhaps arriving from the bench in the way that Carlos Tevez did last season.

While managers such as Blackburn Rovers' Sam Allardyce have said that Owen and his injuries constitute too great a risk, United will not be hurt by the relatively modest salary which he might accept. He rejected a four-year contract at Newcastle in April, believed to be around £90,000 per week, to trigger his departure from the club. But it has been apparent that he might be willing to accept as little as £40,000 a week to continue his Premier League career and rekindle the success of his eight years at Liverpool, when he scored 118 goals in 216 appearances before leaving for the Bernabeu in 2004.

The prospect of Owen moving to Old Trafford was floated by The Independent yesterday, after United's pursuit of Benzema came to nothing, and the odds on Owen moving to Old Trafford shortened rapidly from 20-1 to an astonishing 7-4 by early afternoon. Though Ferguson and his chief executive, David Gill, have a broad understanding that they will not spend big on players under the age of 26, there will be no major outlay on Owen – for whom the move would also offer the prospect of a working life near to his base at Hawarden, on Deeside.

United's other buying options are scant. The obvious available big name contenders are Internazionale's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, rarely a player who has fired against the physical presence of English sides, and perhaps Samuel Eto'o. There were suggestions from Spain yesterday that Eto'o would be keen to sign for United for less than the £200,000 a week Manchester City are offering, though Ferguson's general inclination to go for players aged 26 or under would appear to rule out the 28-year-old – as does his commitment to Cameroon's African Nations Cup campaign in January.

_{Source: Independent}