Ten years ago, Michael Owen was preparing to embark on a six-month spell that would propel Liverpool to their treble and the striker to the Ballon d’Or trophy. Now though, he awakes to reports that he could be joining the Premier League’s bottom club, West Ham.

Michael Owen in his natural habitat at Manchester United© Getty Images

The Daily Mirror reports the out-of-favour Manchester United striker, who cannot get a game at Old Trafford, is “top of the club’s list of targets” as they aim to drag themselves out of the relegation zone having been bottom at Christmas.

Having missed out on Emmanuel Adebayor due to their inability to match the Manchester City striker’s wage demands, Owen is now a target for West Ham and could be available given he has only six months remaining on his contract. If a deal proves unworkable, then Everton’s Yakubu is an alternative target.

Meanwhile, it transpires that Chelsea turned down the chance to sign Rafael van der Vaart in the summer, according to The Sun. The Blues attract some criticism for this, given the Dutchman's form since moving to England, but in Chelsea's system surely he would be a competitor for Florent Malouda? Their decision to look elsewhere seems sensible to us.

Also in The Sun, Liverpool are believed to be targeting Hamburg's Eljero Elia. His cameo performances at the World Cup suggested he is very much the rich man's Ryan Babel, so this deal makes sense, even if the Reds are also moving for Rennes winger Sylvain Marveaux.

Finally, the Daily Mail is always a fine purveyor of transfer rumours once the January transfer window appears on the horizon, and the rag indulges in some fine speculation this morning, with Birmingham reportedly hoping to sign the Spurs pair of David Bentley and Robbie Keane. Meanwhile, Aston Villa are vying with Fulham to sign disaffected Blackburn defender Chris Samba.