Staveley’s ‘offer’ to Chris Mort revealed & Saudi verdict arrives from ex-FA chief – The Times

Some interesting claims have emerged from The Times today on a seemingly imminent Saudi-backed takeover at St James’ Park.

Firstly, their man in the North-East Martin Hardy claims that former NUFC Chairman Chris Mort had been offered the chance to return – but rejected Amanda Staveley’s proposal to replace Lee Charnley as our new chief executive.

Back in January, The Athletic actually revealed that Mort – who left his post on Tyneside in 2008 – was leading the negotiations with Mike Ashley’s people to try and complete a deal on behalf of this Saudi backed bid, however it seems he won’t be returning on a full-time basis.

Interesting piece. In it former FA President Greg Dyke says he expects the #NUFC takeover to go through despite the concerns raised by BeIN Sports and Amnesty… https://t.co/j4xsT40RDj

— Chris Conway (@ChrisConway) April 23, 2020

Then to the other big claim in The Times’ piece, revealing what former FA Chairman Grey Dyke makes of recent complaints towards a Saudi takeover.

Many on Tyneside were left fearful it could all collapse after serious complaints arrived from both Amnesty International and BeIN Sports, however Dyke is still expecting the Saudi-backed takeover to go through – despite these fresh concerns.

While it all seems on track, despite attempts to derail it, we can only hope a formal announcement arrives soon to confirm Mike Ashley is officially gone.

It’s looking good, but only then can the cans be cracked open!

(Fancy writing for us? Get in touch at NUFCblogsubmissions@gmail.com & we’ll get back to you!)