Agent plays down Fowler US switch

Fowler's agent has played down the story

Robbie Fowler's agent has played down reports linking the Liverpool striker with a move to the United States.

Fowler, 31, is out of contract in the summer and New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol says he has spoken to the former England frontman about a move.

But Fowler's agent George Scott told BBC Radio Five Live: "He has not had a conversation with Steve and I don't think they could afford him anyway.

"If he was to think about moving, Qatar or Dubai could be an option."

Fowler's hopes of extending his Anfield career have been threatened by the arrival of Andriy Voronin from Bayer Leverkusen.

Because of the type of money David Beckham has got, a lot of people think everybody has that kind of money New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol

And Nicol appears keen to give Fowler the chance to follow David Beckham into Major League Soccer.

Nicol, who played with Fowler at Liverpool in the early 90s said: "At the moment the first thing is the financial side.

"We've spoken, but as of yet there's nothing been settled. He's really just dipping his foot in the water here. It's something he's thinking about.

"He's getting his ducks in a row. Whether he gets a contract at Liverpool or whether he moves on, he's dipping his foot in the water."

The Revolution have been one of the most consistent teams in MLS in recent seasons, reaching the cup final in each of the last two seasons, only to suffer defeats at the hands of the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005 and the Houston Dynamo last season.

However, with the departure of key man Clint Dempsey to Fulham in January, Nicol knows there is a need to rebuild, and he has some money from that deal to invest in wages.

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Nicol - who fended off a $1m offer from Celtic for midfielder Shalrie Joseph this winter - is in a strong position to make an impact signing using the designated player slot.

This was the mechanism which allowed LA Galaxy to sign Beckham on a contract that could be worth up to $250m in salary and endorsements over five years.

"Through the sale of Clint we have some money available," he said.

"But the problem we have is that, because of the type of money David Beckham has got, a lot of people think everybody has that kind of money which is not the case."