Fowler dismisses talk of return to England

Former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler on Wednesday dismissed reports he would leave Australia to play for ex-teammate John Barnes at English League One side Tranmere Rovers.

The 34-year-old signed a two-year contract with A-League debutants North Queensland Fury in February and said he had no intention of walking away from the deal.

“It looks like somebody’s put two and two together and come up with six,” Fowler said.

“I’ve got a two-year contract with North Queensland Fury and I’m a man of my word — I’ll play it out.”

Fowler, whose goal-scoring exploits once saw him idolised in the red half of Merseyside, said his family had recently arrived in Australia ahead of his A-League debut later this month.

“They wouldn’t have travelled all this way if I had any intention to leave,” he said.

Fury coach Ian Ferguson said he had not been contacted by Barnes and was confident his marquee signing was staying.

“When you’ve got a world-class player in your team there’s always going to be speculation about him going to other clubs,” he said.

Fowler scored 120 goals in 236 league appearances for Liverpool and also played for Leeds United, Manchester City, Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers.