After it emerged yesterday that Amanda Staveley and Mike Ashley are ‘very close’ to agreeing a £300m deal for the sale of NUFC, it has been revealed by reliable North-East correspondent Craig Hope (Mail) that one thing still see the deal stall – with relegation fears said to be holding up Staveley & PCP’s official purchase of the club at full price.
Following last night’s result this seems quite plausible. We’ve now lost SEVEN of our last 8 games and sit just 1 point from the relegation places – and with Arsenal and Man City to come in two of our next three, things could get worse before they get better.
Despite the doom and gloom that followed last night’s latest defeat, its’ worth stressing that this story in the Daily Mail suggests there is merely a ‘fear’ that our iffy league position could ‘hold up’ Staveley’s purchase of NUFC – with it generally maintaining that a deal could well be done soon for those fearing any collapse.
For a clearer look, here’s a key snippet from Craig Hope’s piece in the Daily Mail late last night:
“Amanda Staveley is closing in on a deal to buy Newcastle United from Mike Ashley for around £300million – but fears over relegation are the final sticking point.
“Financier Staveley and PCP Capital Partners are hopeful of reaching an agreement with Ashley and a deal could be inked as soon as next week.
“However, Sportsmail can reveal that the team’s fortunes on the pitch are holding up the process and Staveley does not want to pay the full price should they drop back in to the Championship. Similarly, Ashley is reluctant to accept a package with a significant relegation clause.”
“To try to avoid that eventuality it is understood Newcastle’s owner has agreed to fund manager Rafa Benitez’s January transfer spending with the proviso that he is reimbursed when the takeover is completed.”
Not exactly what we wanted to hear after yesterday’s influx of positivity on the deal, however it’s only natural that she’d be cautious of our potential return to the Championship given our recent form!
Now, whilst this comes from the Daily Mail, its writer Craig Hope has proven himself to be a solid source over recent years (despite his papers highly debatable reputation), with him breaking several NUFC exclusives that ended up being true.
Here’s hoping this is all ironed out so ourselves and Rafa can look forward to some much needed investment in January – with Staveley all set to refund whatever Ashley spends should a deal go through.
