Takeover expert makes TWO Mike Ashley predictions if Newcastle are relegated this summer

A football finance expert claims Mike Ashley may have to wipe £100m off his NUFC asking price should we suffer relegation and fail to bounce back at the first opportunity.

In a hypothetical scenario, Kieran Maguire discussed what relegation would mean for the takeover situation that is hanging over our club.

Worryingly, he also believes that Ashley would STILL demand £300m for us this summer even in the event of us going down – despite no longer bringing in the additional riches that we would do should safety be secured.

As a result, Maguire thinks Ashley will only lower his price if we fail to get promoted at the first time of asking.

These predictions confirm every Toon fans worst nightmare. Should we go down, there are real fears we’d be stuck with Ashley for the long-term.

After all, there’s been reports to suggest the Saudis would still be keen if we went down – but only at a knockdown fee. Yet, if Maguire’s comments are anything to go by, Ashley would be unlikely to reduce his demands in the hope we’d once again bounce back immediately.

Speaking to The Chronicle, he also had this to say:

“There’s a variety of ways of trying to value a football club. It’s a combination of art and science.

“Ultimately if we’re going to say that the valuation of a club based on the amount of cash it generates, a period of time in the Championship has a hugely negative impact.

“If you go down and you don’t come up within a couple of seasons, then the £300m asking price for Newcastle collapses very quickly.

“Look at Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Derby or Nottingham Forest, they could easily sell more tickets in a higher division. Their values have been impacted.

“We have Ipswich Town who are apparently going for £17.5m, and I’m old enough to remember when they were a Premier League club and in the top half on a regular basis.

“If Newcastle don’t have a good start to the season – why pay £300m when you can buy Derby for £60m and put the remaining money into the squad?”

Some may point to the O&D tests being easier to pass in the EFL, but nobody is going to pay anything close to £300m for a Championship club.

The value of Newcastle United would half overnight should the unthinkable happen in May.

It begs the question: does Ashley himself even know this?