Mike Ashley is still waiting on an official bid from Sheikh Khaled to take Newcastle United off his hands, according to the Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder.
There are suggestions that the Magpies have been given proof of funds in the past 24 hours, but despite an agreement between Ashley and the Bin Zayed Group on the worth of the club, no concrete offer has been made.
It is also understood that Ashley is concerned about the fact that deal is being played out in such a public manner – an issue which helped put pay to prospective takeovers from Amanda Staveley and PCP Capital Partners in recent years.
OPINION
Yet again, it feels like Newcastle are running through treacle. All their fans want is a definite answer on whether this deal is going to go ahead or not, but the fact of that matter is that they are probably going to have to wait a while longer before they get any kind of concrete update. Ashley wants to sell, that much is clear, and the Bin Zayed Group seem genuinely keen to buy, but that doesn’t mean that things will be simple at all. Buying a football club is not an easy thing to do, and the amount of complications and potential hold-ups that can come from something like this can be almost infinite. The main thing that Ashley will want to establish is whether or not Sheikh Khaled has the funds to actually pay for the club in the first place. The signs are that proof of finds have been shown, but even then, at this stage it is predominantly supposition. As hard as it may be, patience will be the order of the day.
