New Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier could make a move for Michael Owen in January.
Houllier, who finally takes charge at Villa Park next week, worked with the Manchester United forward during his time at Liverpool.
And the Frenchman has not ruled out a possible reunion with the 30-year-old former England international, who has been plagued by injury in recent years.
Houllier told Canal+: “He has always been in my thoughts. I like him, as a player and a man.”
And a switch may well be on the cards after Owen, himself, revealed his growing frustration with life on the Old Trafford substitute’s bench.
He said: “You can only do your best and prepare and train well, so that you are ready when the manager calls on you. After that, it’s up to the manager who he chooses.
“It sounds easy, but probably the most difficult thing is not playing for a couple of weeks then all of a sudden getting called up and being mentally and physically right to perform well.
“At the end of the season, I’ll look and think, ‘was I happy with the amount of games I was available for?’, ‘did I score enough goals in the games when I player?’ and ‘did I play well enough in those games?’
“You look at the highlights of the season, did we win anything, things like that. But I wouldn’t put any goal or appearance totals out there because, at a club like this, you never know when the manager is going to use you.”