Kinnear fears Owen Newcastle exit
Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear admits he is not confident of persuading Michael Owen to stay at St James' Park when his deal runs out in the summer.
Kinnear will sit down with the striker on Tuesday to discuss a new contract.
But Kinnear told the BBC: "I'm pretty confident about everybody else, but Michael is a different kettle of fish."
Owen, 28, has previously pinpointed boardroom "turmoil" as the reason for his delay in agreeing a new contract with the club.
After former manager Kevin Keegan's controversial exit in September, owner Mike Ashley put the Magpies up for sale but has been unable to find a buyer.
"We had a few meetings earlier on in the season and things were going fine," striker Owen, 28, told BBC Sport earlier in December.
"Then the manager left as did someone on the board who we were negotiating with - talks haven't picked up since."
Owen, who could walk away from the club for free at the end of the season, said: "They've got bigger things to fry than sorting out my contract, or the contracts of Steven Harper, Shola Amoebi, Mark Viduka and Nicky Butt - there are a lot of people out of contract."
Owen also praised the work of Keegan's successor Kinnear, who recently signed a contract as Newcastle's manager until the end of the season.
"We needed someone to steady the ship - there has been so much surrounding the club this season, as well as other seasons, it seems to attract unwanted publicity," said Owen, who has scored six Premier League goals this season.
"He has come in and has had a steadying influence on the club and has done really well.
"We're quite hard to beat - we've had a lot of draws and if we can turn those into wins we'll be on the right road."
Source: BBC