Douglas: Source claims evidence ‘suggests [takeover] is real’

Mark Douglas, the football publishing editor for the Chronicle, has just sent out a tweet that should make Newcastle fans excited.

There’s been a healthy amount of scepticism about the claims made by Newcastle owner Mike Ashley on Sky Sports on Monday, that he hoped a takeover would be complete by the end of the year.

However, the claims aren’t going away and they haven’t been refuted by anyone in authority at the club.

Now, Douglas, has claimed that Alex Hurst, the editor of the Newcastle United fanzine, and a person ‘whose opinion I hugely respect’ has said that having looked at all the available evidence on the new takeover claims, his conclusion is that it “suggests this is real”.

Douglas posted the message on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday lunchtime.

@tfalex1892 writes "every bit of evidence we have received privately and which is being covered in the media suggests this is real".

From an outlet that has a healthy scepticism (and a guy whose opinion I hugely respect), that is an important intervention.

— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) December 5, 2018

OPINION

There will be many Newcastle fans who have been through all this before and will not believe it until a deal is signed and sealed. But, since Ashley went on Sky News on Monday, the evidence seems to be mounting that this is happening. A lot could still go wrong between now and a deal getting signed, but this is a significant tweet from Douglas. An independent source, and one that he not only respects but is sceptical himself, has said that the evidence points to a real possibility of a takeover happening – and what a Christmas present this would be for Newcastle fans. Peter Kenyon is the name that’s getting bandied around the most at the moment and he would surely be an infinitely better custodian than Ashley. Newcastle fans won’t want to get their hopes up quite yet, but this is, as Douglas has pointed out, an ‘important intervention’. These are solid indications from a good source that there is indeed something big going on at St James’ Park. The real question is whether Ashley is indeed a willing seller. That should become apparent soon.