OPINION
Newcastle United fans have had a roller-coaster start to their summer holidays with rumblings of a potential takeover deal in the pipeline – but they must not forget where their priorities need to lie.
The early part of the off-season was meant to be all about getting Rafael Benitez tied down to a new contract and looking to improve on a squad punching above their weight – instead, all eyes have been focused on the Middle East as the Bin Zayed Group revealed their intentions to seal a takeover deal and end Mike Ashley’s 12 years at St James’ Park.
However, Dubai based journalist Ben Jacobs, a reporter for beIN Sports and talkSPORT, claims on his personal Twitter account that the Bin Zayed Group do not expect to complete the full takeover of Newcastle United until after the end of June, by which time Benitez’s contract will be up.
He says that sources from the Middle Eastern company have revealed they are not expectant of an immediate takeover deal, with at least another month of negotiations and dealings on the cards.
#NUFC takeover update. Bin Zayed Group sources say they don’t expect a takeover to be complete before Benitez’s contact expires on June 30. Will be on Mike Ashley (and the impending lure of a possible new owner. If that happens) to persuade him to stay.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) May 28, 2019
This certainly pours cold water over Newcastle fans getting to celebrate a takeover any time soon and the heat in Ashley’s office must be making him sweat buckets – after all, it is up to him to make the right decision and get the manager tied up.
Benitez’s future was the number one priority for the club prior to takeover interest building this past week and it seems to have taken a back seat while a potential buyout is discussed.
Newcastle fans will still want Rafa in charge of their club whether Mike Ashley is there or not but it is up to the current owner to make sure that a deal is in place before someone else buys him out.
The prospective new investors might be willing to wait while Benitez’s future is sorted out and the Spaniard might want reassurances from both Ashley and the interested suitors before he puts pen to paper.
One wrong move and Ashley could lose not only Benitez but the whole takeover, leaving him with a club which has lost its greatest asset.
It adds another complication to the Magpies’ future and you can be sure that Ashley’s men will be busy in the background trying to get all the paperwork done ahead of what promises to be a summer of change for the club.