Duncan Castles has been speaking on the latest episode of The Transfer Window podcast, and he revealed the current view from Saudi Arabia is that there is only one thing stopping the proposed takeover of Newcastle United.
Castles claims that the buying side believes Mike Ashley is in a contract he cannot escape from, and the last remaining hurdle is the Premier League’s approval, despite news of a rival bid.
This is what Castles had to say about the Toon’s proposed takeover:
“The Saudi Arabian version is that they have an exclusive deal with Mike Ashley that he cannot escape from, they’ve paid a substantial deposit.
“The only thing that can prevent them from buying the club is the Premier League refusing them permission to become owners of one of their member clubs.
“So, their view is that they’re not interested in what anyone else says about plans to buy the football club because they have control of the situation from the perspective of having that agreement with Mike Ashley.”
It seems as if the buyers in this deal see no one else as a threat and believe that because they have an agreement with Ashley, the only thing that can stop them is the PL.
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TIF Thoughts…
News emerged on Wednesday that Henry Mauriss had made a bid of £350m for Newcastle United, and he was ready to step in should the Premier League fail Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed takeover.
However, it appears as if the buyers are not worried about anyone else getting to the same stage they are at because of this deal with Ashley.
The main issues with the Saudi-backed takeover appear to be the concerns over piracy, with some suggesting that the Saudis might have to make some concessions to allow this takeover through.
It remains to be seen what the Premier League decide, but earlier in this podcast, Ian McGarry did reveal that he thinks a decision from the PL is edging closer.