Newcastle United takeover talks are being threatened after Amanda Staveley and PCP Capital Partners claimed that relegation would wipe a massive £125million off the value of the club, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claim that the club’s on-field problems at the moment are beginning to jeopardise takeover negotiations, with relegation from the Premier League becoming more and more of a possibility.
Rafa Benitez’s charges have failed to win in nine league matches, managing just one draw in that time, and find themselves in the bottom three after 18 games.
Relegation would not completely kill off a deal despite being such a key talking point, but any agreement would have to reflect the real possibility of the club going down.
Staveley and PCP are now said to have put a value on the club’s potential relegation from the Premier League, claiming that the Magpies will be worth £125million less if that were to happen.
Current owner Mike Ashley is said to be holding out for £350million, with the current offer on the table only amounting to £250million.
The upcoming TV rights auction in February is touted to be an indicator of the club’s real worth.
OPINION
One can’t help feel now as though talk of a takeover has been one of the reason’s behind the club’s poor form on the pitch. The Magpies had a very promising start to the campaign, but now find themselves mired in a serious battle against relegation. That spectacular fall has coincided with the takeover, which is now set to dominate the club for another few months. Relegation was always going to be a possibility for promoted Newcastle and for their prospective owners, but it is slowly turning into more of a probability. That is in turn affecting negotiations, and it feels as though the club are currently stuck in a vicious cycle of on-pitch and off-pitch setbacks.