Newcastle fans won’t have enjoyed the Daily Mail interview with Mike Ashley last week but talkSPORT host Jim White has given them new hope on Monday.
In a wide-ranging interview that took in the departure of Rafa Benitez and the appointment of Steve Bruce, Ashley was very negative about the possibility of a takeover happening.
“So I have to assume I will stay running this football club,” Ashley said in the Daily Mail.
“There are no offers. Define an offer. I’m not a believer any more. Peter Kenyon convinced me last Christmas that it was going to get done. I’m never doing that again.
“I think I could own this football club for ever. That is my new mental state. The reality is with these deals that once it gets out, if it’s not done, it’s probably not going to get done.”
However, talking about the interview on the Jim White show (talkSPORT, Monday, 12.15pm), the host said, “It’s my belief he will sell sooner rather than later. I don’t think he’ll go another season in charge of the club.”
Guest Clinton Morrison said, “If he is still in charge [at the end of the season] there will be some sticky times for sure.”
Ashley – staying or going?
If you’d asked us this earlier in the summer, we’d have been convinced that Ashley was on the verge of selling. The Bin Zayed Group were bullish about a deal going through, only for talk to dry up as the summer progressed.
Newcastle fans won’t have any sympathy but you can understand Ashley’s frustration if he is intent on selling the club.
Rafa Benitez’s exit has made the club arguably less valuable but since then Newcastle have signed Brazilian striker Joelinton from Hoffenheim for a club-record fee.
That could signify that Ashley now appreciates he might never be able to sell the club at the price he wants until there’s some progress in the Premier League.
That’s going to be a tough ask this season, even with Joelinton, but a top-half finish could finally see serious buyers come in for the club.
For that reason, we think Newcastle fans should get behind the team and Bruce, and call off planned boycotts. What better way to get rid of Ashley than on the football pitch?