Newcastle United boss Joe Kinnear admits he is not confident he will be able to persuade Michael Owen to sign a new contract.
Owen, who is one of a number of players to be out of contract at the end of the season, is set for talks on Tuesday to discuss his future with the club.
Kinnear, though, admits the Magpies may struggle to keep hold of their star player with so many options available to him when his contract runs out.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's meeting, the Toon boss said he hopes he can convince Owen to stay at St James' Park but admits he has his work cut out.
"I'm not confident, to be honest," said Kinnear. "I'm going to sit down with Michael on Tuesday.
"I'm pretty confident about everyone else, but Michael is a different kettle of fish.
"He is looking at his options, I assume, but I won't go into those details until Tuesday."
Kinnear admits that the current turmoil surrounding the club on and off the field could be an influential factor for Owen when it comes to deciding upon his future.
"We have heard lots of things, that Michael's agent has had lots of clubs on to him.
"Obviously, they will want to know what type of contract we are going to offer him.
"I won't go into those details now, but we will be offering him what we consider an excellent contract considering the climate of what is happening around all football clubs.
"But it will be up to Michael to make that decision."
Nicky Butt, Steve Harper and Shola Ameobi are amongst the others awaiting contract talks.
Kinnear, though, foresees no problems in tying up any loose ends with the rest of his squad.
"I am pretty confident that Shola Ameobi, Steve Harper and Nicky Butt will sign, it's now just down to Michael."
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