With 40 goals in 89 appearances for England along with 144 Premier League goals, Michael Owen  will be looking to move away from the North East and have another stab at success.

But which club will offer the the seventh-highest scorer in the history of the league the opportunity to pick up the threads of his faltering career?

Injuries have plagued Owen in the last few years as he has struggled to make any sort of impact at Newcastle United. Never managing to put together a run of games has not helped, nor has the lack of creativity in the Magpies' midfield.

While Owen has an impressive goal-scoring ratio, he has always thrived on support from his fellow strikers and midfielders. At Liverpool his understanding with Emile Heskey and Steven Gerrard meant that he always had plenty of chances.

The same can be said about his time at Real Madrid.

At Newcastle he has been in a struggling side that created few goal-scoring chances. His injuries may also have caused him to lose a yard of pace - but can clubs overlook a player with such an astonishing record?

In the current financial climate, it is extremely unlikely that any club would want to offer the sort of wages that Owen is on at Newcastle – a reported £120,000 a week – and less likely that they believe the striker to be worth this.

At one time, Owen could have had his pick of Europe’s elite; now the clubs that are reportedly interested are Everton, Aston Villa and Roma. All three sides will be competing in the newly-formed Europa League next season and may see Owen as the perfect candidate to help secure some European success.

Everton would love to tempt the boyhood Goodison fan back to his roots but do they need another injury-prone striker?

Villa have the pace of Gabby Agbonlahor but could reunite Owen with former strike partner Emile Heskey – a combination that enjoyed great success with Liverpool and England – or the giant John Carew.

And Roma have the ex-Liverpool defender John Arne Riise, who would no doubt love to be reunited with his former team-mate.

But would Owen make the move to Italy?

The decision will rest solely with Michael, who will have to decide what he wants from the remainder of his career.

Everton will be fighting hard for a top-four finish, Villa will also want the same, while Roma struggled in sixth place but could provide Owen with a big stage in Italy.

The decision is certainly a tough one.