With Owen's contract at Manchester United set to expire, Derby were said to have pieced together a £1.5million package to lure him to Pride Park.
Nigel Clough: "The rumour has come from the internet, I understand, and that is where it belongs.
"Silly 'names' are going to be bandied around but we have identified our targets.
"We can expect this type of thing over the coming weeks but some of the rumours are going to be more ridiculous than others and certainly the Michael Owen rumour fits into that category.
"It is unfortunate Kenny Dalglish has just gone back into management because we could have gone for him as well!"