Michael Owen, the English international and former member of recently relegated Newcastle United, has stated in The Independent on July 1 that he expects to join either Everton or Aston Villa now that his contract with Newcastle has expired.

In the Independent, Owen stated that he favors joining Everton slightly, but Villa are in position to reward him with a better contract.

However, neither club has yet to offer Owen a contract, but Owen's agents believe that it will only be a matter of time before he could join either of the clubs.

Other clubs, such as Stoke City, Hull City, and Olympiakos have all expressed interest in Owen, but Owen considers these teams to be backup options if he cannot join either Everton or Villa.

Also, if Owen does not get a weekly contract that is equal to the £108,000-a-week salary he got from Newcastle from any club, Newcastle will have to pay him £108,000 a week for the next four weeks, which will be 432,000 more pounds that the cash-strapped Toon will have to pay to Owen, who only managed 26 goals in four injury-plagues seasons at St. James' Park.