Newcastle journalist Lee Ryder has said that Newcastle have “confirmed” some talks with Sheikh Khaled, after reports of a £350m bid for Newcastle.
The Sun reported that contracts between the two parties had been signed and delivered to the Premier League.
Newcastle had initially responded with a “no comment” without denying the bid.
However, they have now moved to confirm that “some talks” have taken place, without going as far as the Sun newspaper, and they have also said there is still “some way” to go.
#nufc have confirmed some talks with Shaikh Khaled. But say there is still "some way" to go on a deal. More to follow.
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) May 27, 2019
#nufc refusing to make any further comment at this time.
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) May 27, 2019
OPINION
It didn’t take long for Newcastle to come up with an official response, after delivering a no comment earlier. It does look like the Sun might be stretching it a bit to say that contracts have been signed and delivered. But this is a very positive development for Newcastle fans. We imagine that finances won’t be a problem, with Sheikh Khaled a billionaire and senior member of the Dubai royal family. If he’s willing to meet Ashley’s price and Ashley wants to sell without moving the goalpost, this would seem fairly straightforward. We always thought Newcastle were a big enough club to fetch the price that Ashley wanted and now it looks like someone with the means is very interested. It’s important that if the deal is a go-er that it’s completed as quickly as possible. Benitez needs to sign a new contract and he also needs to know how much money he will have to invest in new players. This summer could end up being an absolutely pivotal one in the future of the club. Newcastle fans will be – rightly so – very, very excited with this news.