Owen agrees to join Newcastle

England striker Michael Owen has agreed to join Newcastle United on a four-year contract, the Premier League club said in a statement on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old will undergo a medical later on Tuesday and is set to complete his move from Real Madrid for a club record fee of more than 15 million pounds ($27.11 million).

"Bringing Michael to St James' Park will rank alongside the signing of Alan Shearer as my proudest moment at Newcastle United," Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd told the club's website.

"Newcastle fans love centre forwards and Michael is a fantastic goalscorer. He's someone we would love to build the team around and we hope he can help us bring success to the club."

Owen had also been linked with a return to Liverpool, the club he left last year for 8 million pounds.

He had fallen down the pecking order of strikers at Real Madrid following the Spanish club's recent signings of Brazilians Robinho and Julio Baptista.