The world of football never quite ceases to shock its supporters. Who would have thought it possible - even though Michael Owen never quite got the adulation reserved for Robbie Fowler, who is still referred to as God on  the Spion Kop, nor did he have as lofty a standing as Steven Gerrard, the man who epitomises Liverpool to the very core - the thought of the former Liverpool striker joining arch-rivals Manchester United.

The reasons for Owen's ambiguous relationship with the Liverpool faithful are several. Firstly, Michael Owen made his breakthrough as an England player, and not as a Liverpool player. It was that instant shot to stardom, that fearsome Argentina goal that made Owen into a internationally recognised lethal scoring machine. And at Anfield, this is a sacrilege.

You need to be a Liverpool player first, second and last, as far as the supporters are concerned. Liverpool fans don't have much time for England. After all, the chant goes, "We're not English, We're Scouse".

And secondly, well, he is not actually a Scouser, he hails from Wales. He then went on to turn his back on Liverpool, claiming he desired for greater glory and the Champions League. Outcome? He left Anfield and the following season Liverpool were crowned Champions of Europe while Real Madrid were slowly sinking into obscurity. The chant went on and on and on: "Where were you, where were you, where were you in Istanbul". Owen was then jettisoned from Spain and landed at St James Park, where his career has gone downhill ever since.

Lastly, Owen was an Everton supporter as a child. Well, so was Robbie Fowler, but in the case of Fowler, that was swiftly forgiven and forgotten. Robbie's passion for Liverpool was probably matched in recent years only by that of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, while Owen's allegiance to the club was always hanging by a threat. Nevermind the fact that Owen is one of Liverpool's most prolific scorers of all time, with 158 goals to his name.

The bombshell was dropped by the English newspaper The Daily Telegraph on July 2, claiming "it has reliable sources confirming that Owen is on the brink of joining the Premier League champions after becoming a free agent when his contract at Newcastle expired on [June 30]".

"Details of the prospective deal are scarce but it is anticipated that Owen, 29, would sign a highly incentivised deal due to his worrying problems with injuries over the last four years at St James' Park where he was paid 115 000 pounds sterling (134 330 euro) a week," The Daily Telegraph has said.

Meanwhile, according to the BBC, "Owen, who will be ready to accept a dramatic drop in wages, has already attracted public declarations of interest from Stoke and Hull while Tottenham and Portsmouth are also understood to be keen on securing the services of a striker who has fallen from grace during his time on Tyneside".

For their part however, Manchester United have until now refused to either confirm or deny that they have interest in the former Liverpool hit man. Owen is out of contract, and reportedly has not returned to train with his Newcastle teammates.

Should Manchester United sign Owen, and should he walk out at Anfield, facing the Kop end sporting a United shirt, he would do well to have nerves of steel.