The Bin Zayed Group is now undergoing a fit and proper test as they aim to complete a takeover of Newcastle United, according to Sun reporter Justin Allen.
The reliable journalist claimed via his Twitter account that reports saying that the Premier League have not received signed documents from the Biz Zayed Group and Mike Ashley have been refuted after terms were agreed last Friday.
Reports elsewhere say the #PremierLeague don't have the signed paperwork from the Bin Zayed Group & Mike Ashey. That has also been refuted. Heads of terms were signed on Friday. The fit and proper test is now where the takeover is – and that takes a bit of time. #NUFC #Newcastle
— Justin Allen (@justinallen1976) May 29, 2019
Allen reported on the Sun’s website this week that Ashley had agreed a £350million fee to sell the Tyneside club to Dubai-based billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan.
It is now understood that the takeover has reached a new stage and the Bin Zayed Group will undergo the Premier League’s rigourous fit and proper test, that could take some time to complete.
OPINION
If it is going to take some time to complete a fit and proper test then so be it, Newcastle fans will have to wait it out and see what happens. They have been wanting Ashley out for years and while the ownership of their club will be transferred to the Middle East, there is certainly no case of the ‘better the devil you know’ here among the Toon Army. Newcastle have been shackled by Ashley’s tight-fisted ownership in the last few years and his unwillingness to invest has led to the uncertainty surrounding Rafa Benitez’s contract. It remains to be seen what kind of owner Sheikh Khaled and he Bin Zayed Group will actually be like, but they sound like they’re very wealthy and could really help Newcastle transform from a team that has been looking over their shoulder for over a decade, to one that is reaching for the stars.