HULL REMAIN hopeful they can entice Michael Owen to the KC Stadium after his Newcastle contract expires today.

They are one of the few English clubs to have publicly declared their interest in signing the former Liverpool and Real Madrid forward although the 29-year-old is not likely to be short of offers.

Neither manager Phil Brown nor chairman Paul Duffen have had contact with Owen but they are hoping for a chance to meet as the player officially becomes a free agent. A move to sign England’s fourth highest goalscorer would be audacious on Hull’s part and Duffen insists it is no gimmick.

Duffen said: “Whether we get to speak to Michael or not I don’t know, there are a lot of people that want to speak to him tomorrow.

“But we will certainly make sure we have a dialogue.

“It is a very competitive environment, a lot of people want to sign Michael Owen.

“He has had a fantastic career and I believe he still has a lot to offer to the Premier League.

“I have heard there are clubs from all over Europe interested and we have to accept we are not a Champions League club – we are who we are.

“But I believe we could structure a deal with Michael that would make it very interesting for him to come and play football at club where he has the chance of starting every week and scoring goals to get his career back on track.”

Hull are currently involved in negotiations to sign two other strikers in Marc-Antoine Fortune of Nancy and Manchester United’s Fraizer Campbell.

Terms have been agreed with both players and their respective clubs but neither has yet committed.

Fortune, who impressed on loan at West Brom last season, was thought to be edging towards Hull in the face of an offer from Celtic but West Ham are now said to be interested.

The club are still hopeful of capturing the 27-year-old Frenchman but Brown admits he cannot afford to wait much longer for a decision. Brown said: “It hasn’t moved forward in the last 48 hours. We are confident we are still in the pole position but these things are always a concern.

Hull had what is believed to be a club record €7 million offer accepted by United for Campbell earlier in the summer but have been unable to make progress due to his involvement in the European Under-21 Championship.