Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has reportedly reduced his asking price for the club as he looks to complete wrap up a sale.
The Times claims that the 53-year-old billionaire is willing to drop his asking price for the Tyneside club from £400million to £380million.
The newspaper reports Ashley failed to entice investors from China last summer and he is confident that £380million is a fair assessment of the club’s value and he is willing to sell it for this price.
The report claims that Ashley has based his decision on the fact that Rafa Benitez is the club manager but brokers are convinced that the Newcastle owner is being extremely idealistic with his asking price.
Good move for Newcastle?
Newcastle fans will be delighted that Ashley is looking to emphatically cut down his asking price and look to sell the club as soon as possible.
The club’s supporters have never really warmed to their current owner since he took over in 2007 with Newcastle experiencing two relegations from the Premier League.
It could also work out well for manager Benitez who seemingly does not see eye-to-eye with Ashley especially after failing to bring in more signings during the past summer transfer window.
The report mentions that Ashley has been trying to offload the club for seven years so his willingness to now reduce the asking price could potentially convince more investors to take a look at the club and consider making an offer.
Although there are a few skeptics around the idea of foreign owners, Newcastle supporters are desperate to see their club challenging for the big trophies in the near-future and they are unlikely to be opposed to a fresh approach in the boardroom.
This Is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
As it mentions in the report, brokers feel that Ashley is being optimistic in believing that investors abroad would be interested in buying the club for that amount of money.
The Newcastle owner has only reduced his price down by £20million and it could be argued that Ashley has only dropped it due to the criticism who received over the summer regarding transfer activity.
Many would argue that if he was serious about selling the club, he would make a significant drop in the price in order to attract more possible suitors.
The team have made a fantastic start to life back in the Premier League and investors could potentially look to take over the club should they record an impressive league finish by the end of the season.
This Is Futbol rating: 6/10