MICHAEL Owen's arrival at St James' Park is without question the biggest transfer coup in the club's 113-year history.

The 25-year-old England international's decision to move to Newcastle, instead of Liverpool, in a club record £16m deal from Real Madrid has been likened to the two biggest ever high profile swoops in the club's history - that of Kevin Keegan and current skipper Alan Shearer.

The enormity of Keegan's signing cannot be dismissed.

He was the England captain, recently returned from the 1982 World Cup in Spain, when he made the decision to join United in a £100,000 deal from Southampton.

His former club had finished seventh in the old Division One table; Newcastle ended their campaign ninth in Division Two. The 31-year-old could just about have had the pick of any club in the world if he so desired, instead he chose to help wake the sleeping North-East giant that is Newcastle.

The Northern Echo reported on how Keegan admitted that his whirlwind move from the Saints was sparked by the omen of seeing two Magpies, the club's emblem, while driving in Holland prior to his move.

He later revealed, however, that his father, who was born in Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham, was a massive Newcastle fan and it was his dying wish to see his son play for the club.

Unfortunately his father passed away before he could witness the event, but the symbol of the Magpies, his father and Keegan about to enter the twilight of his career may have struck a chord with charismatic frontman.

There is no doubt Keegan was about to become even wealthier for the switch. The deal reputedly made him Britain's first £3,000-a-week footballer. But, money aside, it was clear the move was a sentimental one.

Shearer's arrival on Tyneside for a then world record £15m was just as sensational.

He was England's top scorer at Euro 96 and arguably the best striker in the world at that time. The Northern Echo wrote the move "stunned the football world".

Those close to the career-minded Shearer believed he would move to the continent to broaden his footballing education or join Alex Ferguson's fledglings at Manchester United.

They obviously did not take into account then manager Keegan's powers of persuasion and the 24-year-old's love of his hometown club; despite it being well documented when he was at Blackburn.

Shearer too, like Keegan, was going to be a rich man because of his transfer.

It was reported that he was drawing ten times what his boss had earned at the club as a player.

It is remarkable Owen does not have the same club options as Keegan and Shearer given his standing as a world class striker in the game.

The former Anfield man has been unquestionably the country's top striker for several years now and next summer will make his third World Cup finals appearance.

The 25-year-old had expressed a wish to return to his former club Liverpool after he endured a frustrating time at Real Madrid last season, where he was largely used as a substitute.

Whatever the reason for the change of mind remains uncertain at this time and although he too will benefit from an increase in wealth - a reported £100,000 a week - his decision to play for Newcastle is different from his predecessors.

All three transfers shared similarities in that they were, or are, all world class England strikers at the peak of their game.

But Owen's unexpected signing is far bigger than manager Arthur Cox's audacious swoop to bring Keegan to United's second division strugglers and it is bigger than the Magpies' outrageous decision to pay Blackburn Rovers £15m to steal Shearer from beneath the noses of Manchester United in 1996.

Quite simply, Owen does not possess the same personal and emotional ties with Newcastle in the way Keegan and Shearer had.

The ability of the Magpies to persuade Owen to come to St James' Park must not be underestimated