Hull City chairman Paul Duffen has stated that the club have a strong interest in signing former England and Newcastle striker Michael Owen.

Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, Duffen confirmed that the club were looking into signing Owen, who has confirmed he will leave relegated Newcastle when his contract expires at the end of the month.

"The interest is very serious. We can give him reasons why we believe a move to Hull City would be a good decision for his career right now," Duffen explained.

"It's obviously a long shot because there'll be a number of other clubs lining up to turn his head in their direction as well but it would be absolutely right to say we are very interested."

"Michael's a consummate professional and is not going to talk to any club until his current contract with Newcastle expires on 30 June and therefore there's no active conversation."

Earlier in June, Owen's management company sent a brochure to potential buyers to remind them of the talent that resulted in him scoring 158 goals in about 300 games for Liverpool and 40 goals in 89 appearances for England.

However, Owen's last two seasons have been heavily plagued by injury and he has failed to recapture the form that led Real Madrid to sign him nearly eight years ago.

The management at Hull have repeatedly said that they believe Owen would do well at the club, and hope that the lure of first-team football will convince the striker to put pen to paper.

Although Owen has also been linked with Everton and Aston Villa, there are many doubts about whether he still possesses the fitness and drive required to regain form at the top level, and he is expected to take a significant pay cut no matter where he moves.