Lee Clark believes that Newcastle supporters should be feeling cautiously optimistic over the possibility of the club being involved in a takeover this summer.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is in talks over a potential £350million deal to potentially sell the club to Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan, according to The Sun.
However, the club’s hierarchy have maintained their silence over the prospects of any impending deal that would see Ashley sell the club to Sheikh Khaled, according to the Chronicle.
Clark believes that Newcastle’s quiet stance on the potential takeover means the club’s supporters should be cautious, but he still thinks that there is still room for optimism.
“I think the current owner has always said that he was willing to sell to the right people at the right price. Hopefully this group agree the fee and hopefully finance the club, in a way that Mike has come and said he could never do in terms of his own personal wealth,” Clark told Tribal Football.
“There’s a little bit of excitement around the city at the moment, but it’s tinged with a little bit of anxiety with what’s happened in previous years.”
OPINION
Clark is right to suggest that Newcastle supporters should remain cautiously optimistic about the potential of the club being taken over this summer. He is also correct to point out that Ashley has stated that he is willing to sell the club for the right deal, but there have been instances where a takeover was being discussed but ultimately failed to materialise. That is why although, as Clark says, there is excitement around Newcastle over the prospect of having new owners come into the club and invest, there is also the air of caution over the prospect of the deal falling through. Newcastle are in need of a change in direction, as everybody is ware, probably even Ashley himself having admitted in the past he has not got the wealth to compete with other big spenders in the English game. Therefore this could be the right time for the club to be sold and allowed to re-shape under a new regime who can put the sort of funds needed into the club. Newcastle supporters will be hoping that a deal can be completed, but they would be wise to adopt Clark’s approach of being optimistic but also cautious.