Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is ready to play “the long game” with the Bin Zayed Group, according to Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder.
Ashley has so far remained silent over the deal despite a second statement from the BZG this week that said paperwork had been sent to the Premier League.
Ryder claims that Ashley “having signed a non-disclosure agreement” is simply “adhering to the rules” and that he won’t make a statement until an official bid is lodged.
However, Ryder added that Ashley could “pull the plug” on the takeover at any time and that he did that over the Amanda Staveley deal when she went public with her pitch.
OPINION
Ashley hasn’t pulled the plug on this deal despite the Bin Zayed Group making things very public. Machinations are obviously going on behind the scenes and there’s a reason why the BZG is so keen to air everything in public. There could be a lot of reasons for this, some positive and some negative. There was set to be another statement from the BZG before the end of the week but we haven’t heard anything yet. Today could be a key day but it seems that until the money is on the table, Ashley is not ready to give Newcastle fans even the smallest crumb of comfort over the deal. To be fair to him – and whatever Newcastle fans make of him – he’s a successful businessman and he knows how to do big deals. They’re normally done in private with scant details leaking out and that’s certainly not the case here. The reason why will no doubt become clear in time.