Theory emerges behind Ashley's decision to set new asking price for NUFC - Could this be right?

An intriguing theory has emerged on Twitter from True Faith stat-man Chris Holt, explaining just why Mike Ashley may have dropped his asking price from £400m to £300m - and it makes a fair bit of sense.

As Holt explains in his tweets below, Ashley wanted £400m last October - and, if the Shields Gazette and The Chronicle are to be believed, his asking price has now dropped by a staggering £100m in search of a sale.

Since October last year, we have a net transfer spend of -£20M and it's well documented that the 2017/18 Premier League season saw the club raise £123m.

Where has this money gone? Well, it seems Ashley may have pocketed it - and this could be why he feels able to reduce the asking price so significantly in order to attract potential buyers.

Here's what Chris Holt has had to say on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/bigchrisholt/status/1042324621784244225

I don't blame anyone for being sceptical or dismissive given what's gone on over the last 12 months, but this MIGHT just explain why he feels able to drop the asking price.

Has Ashley pocketed the Mitrovic money, the TV cash and refused to spend so that he feels able to drop his asking price to an amount potential buyers would pay? Let's hope so.

https://twitter.com/BenArfaChance/status/1042323408716013569