Newcastle United officials insist it is ‘business as usual’ at the club amid fresh reports of a US-based takeover, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper report that claims from financial site Betaville, which suggest that Mike Ashley has been in America to finalise a sale, have been denied by club sources.
The Chronicle claim that it is however possible that club officials would be unaware of a takeover until the last minute, with talks over such a big deal being undertaken at the highest level and in top secrecy.
OPINION
In reality, the likelihood that the Chronicle’s sources at the club will know anything of a takeover at this moment in time is low. Mike Ashley will not want details of such a deal leaking through the club and subsequently the press until it is all but finalised, so this report does not really tell us much. While the claims from Betaville come from out of the blue, you have to say that there may be some substance behind them. The site was set up by a former Daily Telegraph finance reporter, and seems to be seen as a largely reliable source. Obviously Newcastle fans will be wary of taking on board anything to do with a takeover after being strung along for so long, but many will no doubt be excited by these latest claims. Getting rid of Ashley is their number one priority at the moment, and the prospect of a US-based consortium taking over is a promising one.
