A party interested in Newcastle United have been holding ‘extensive discussions’ with Magpies consultant Justin Barnes, according to The Chronicle.
The newspaper claims that said interested party have described Barnes as ‘helpful’ amid talks which have been taking place over the past few months.
They are thought to have believed as recently as the end of November that a deal for the north east giants could be close, although we don’t know where things stand at the moment.
That’s because the club are ensuring that no leaks get out of St James’ Park, having been burnt by that sort of thing in the past.
OPINION
This is an interesting update, because it tells us that somebody within the club – one person, at least – is actively working to at least seriously discuss the possibility of selling Newcastle. Obviously it doesn’t seem like it’s got to the stage where Mike Ashley is actually involved and there’s any reasonable expectation that a deal could be close, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. It seems like Barnes has made a positive impression on the interested party, as well, which is good. The same hasn’t always been said of Ashley, of course, so he could yet come in and blow these discussions to smithereens. The Newcastle supporters, though, won’t be getting ahead of themselves, certainly not. They’ve been burnt too many times before, over and over again, and so they won’t believe a takeover is done until it’s done. That’s the best policy for them at the moment given the let-downs of recent years.
