Potential Newcastle United buyers need to come up with the full asking price and prove that they can take the club forward if they are to be taken seriously, according to journalist Lee Ryder.
Ryder was discussing the latest regarding a potential Newcastle sale in a Q & A on The Chronicle’s website, following a report from The Times on Sunday which stated that owner Mike Ashley has taken the club off the market.
However, Ryder claims that the Magpies will always be up for sale while the Sports Direct tycoon is in charge, but that prospective owners must demonstrate their legitimacy to prove to Ashley that they are not time wasters.
This comes after consortiums led by Peter Kenyon and Garry Cook respectively both failed to find the funds necessary to tempt Ashley into selling.
OPINION
This is extremely encouraging reading for Newcastle supporters after the disconcerting nature of the report from The Times on Sunday, even if it doesn’t alleviate all of their fears surrounding Ashley. Obviously he remains in charge of the club for the foreseeable future, which is not what the fans want, but there is some encouragement to be found here. He does still want to sell the club and Newcastle will continue to be up for sale while he has the reins. Simply put, he just doesn’t want to waste time and money on ‘interested’ parties that cannot actually come up with the cash necessary to purchase the Magpies. It’s hard to blame him for that. He is said to have spent a fair bit of money on legal fees so far in an attempt to facilitate a sale, only to find out that the buyer in question doesn’t have the money to buy the club. But still, the main takeaway from what Ryder says here is that the club remains up for sale.