Liam Kennedy of the Shields Gazette has been speaking on a recent episode of NUFC Matters with Steve Wraith and has been going into detail on the proposed takeover of Newcastle United.
Kennedy discussed all sorts of issues around the deal that would see Mike Ashley replaced by Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium and revealed where the deal is.
This what Kennedy said on the process and how long any transfer of funds could take:
“This is a deal that is 99% done, it is effectively just waiting on a yes or no and then the transfer of funds, which I am led to believe will probably take maybe the course of a week or so for it to happen; it might be as short as three or four days.
“Simply because the transfer of funds through different currencies, through different banks, but if the Premier League were suddenly to turn around and say yes tomorrow [Wednesday], we would probably have a new owner at the football club by this time next week.”
It seems as if Kennedy believes that the final 1% of the deal is Premier League approval, and if that were to arrive, the whole process could be completed a week later.
Do you also think the deal is 99% done?
Yes, just waiting on PL approval
No, PL approval accounts for more than 1% of the process
TIF Thoughts…
Given how long this process has taken, it is certainly a big claim from Kennedy to suggest that the deal is extremely close to coming to a final conclusion.
If what Kennedy says is true, then the takeover has been 99% complete since April after a deposit was paid to Ashley, and the deal was handed to the PL.
However, since then, nothing has happened, and the Premier League have still not made a decision – either yes or no.
Still, with the transfer window fast approaching, Newcastle are in limbo and need a decision from the Premier League on this.
It seems that if they were to approve the deal, the new regime could be in place very quickly, but it is a case of waiting to see what the PL decide to do.