By Chris Hatherall. Thursday, 01 September 2005.
Jamie Carragher has wished Three Lions team mate Michael Owen all the best at Newcastle even though he wanted the striker to join Liverpool.
Owen sealed a £16m transfer from Real Madrid to St James' Park on Wednesday and disappointed his former Liverpool team mate. But Carragher believes Owen will be a big success as he makes a return to the Premiership on Tyneside.
He said: "It would have been nice if he had joined Liverpool but we have a lot of strikers at the minute, we have about four or five, so maybe the timing wasn’t right. Newcastle are a bit short in that area and perhaps pushed the boat out a bit more to get him.
"It’s a shame for us but good luck to him, he’s a good friend of mine and I hope he does well. I’m sure he will score a lot of goals for them."
Owen is suspended for Saturday's trip to face Wales so he won't be scoring for England this weekend. But Carragher has every chance of being chosen to replace the injured John Terry.
He said: "I’m sure every centre-back in the squad wants a chance to play in this one and I’m the same. The manager hasn’t picked the team yet but fingers crossed I’ll be in there.
"We want to put the Denmark game behind us and it’s good this game has come so quickly for us. We’re delighted we have a chance to put things right.
"These are qualifying games to get to the World Cup and that’s always been our main aim. I'm really looking forward to it."