Lee Ryder has been speaking on the latest episode of The Chronicle’s Everything is Black & White podcast, and he has revealed that the Premier League and the potential Toon owners have been in talks.
Ryder spoke mainly about the Toon’s 3-0 win over Sheffield United, but he did have a little bit to add on the takeover after Saudi Arabia announced that they would be cracking down on piracy.
Here is what Ryder had to say in full about the takeover situation:
“It’s all eyes on the Premier League, once more. They have obviously held some tight discussions with the bidding side; the bidding side were told that certain things needed to be looked at.
“It feels like that is the case; whether it’s enough to convince the Premier League to give it the green light, we will have to wait and see.”
It sounds as if Ryder is still not that confident on the proposed takeover, but he has acknowledged that discussions are taking place.
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The Toon’s Saudi-backed takeover was agreed with Mike Ashley in April, but since then, the Premier League have been running the deal through their checks.
The main issue to come up has been piracy, which led to suggestions that the Premier League might ask for some concessions from Saudi Arabia before approving the takeover.
Announcing that they will crack down on piracy and unblocking beIN Sports might be the sort of concessions that the Premier League were after, and both have happened.
So, though Ryder is still not sounding that confident, he must believe that the takeover is edging closer?
Craig Hope confirmed that he believes the Premier League’s decision is days away and that it should be positive.
It remains to be seen what happens.