Speaking recently on The Guardian Football Weekly podcast, journalist Philippe Auclair discussed Newcastle United’s proposed takeover and whether or not he believes it will go through.
With the £300 million Saudi Arabia-backed takeover of Newcastle seemingly being at a standstill – following over three months of the proposed deal sitting with the Premier League – tensions have been running extremely high in the Newcastle camp regarding the progress of the takeover, with Newcastle boss Steve Bruce even speaking out regarding the situation surrounding the bid.
So, when asked on The Guardian Football Weekly podcast whether he considered the potential of the deal happening as something worth speculating on, Philippe Auclair claimed he believed it was, while also adding he feels there is something ‘not quite right’ with the takeover.
He said: “I think it is worth speculating [on] and I think that one of the most interesting aspects of this story is that the deal between Mike Ashley and the prospective buyers, led by PIF [Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia] chairman Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
“What is very interesting is that this deal was presented as if it had been done and as if it had been wrapped, it was only a question dotting a few I’s, crossing a few T’s and so forth and it had been basically done.
“Tariq [Panja] and I actually have been talking about this particular subject for quite a long time, and felt that there was something which was not quite right about what was going on – it was taking far too long.
“Also, it’s very much unlike the Saudis – when you talk to people who have been involved in business with them – to actually go public before the deal is completely done. Many people are like that: you do the deal, then you talk about it.
“Remember what Mike Ashley said during the previous failed takeover, which was ‘if you start to hear about a deal in the media before it’s been concluded, there’s a very good chance it will not happen’.
“At the moment, to be absolutely honest, I’m hedging my views. I thought it was going to go through, that it was just being slow, and that was understandable.
“But, at the moment, given the position of the Premier League, between a rock and a hard place… I have a feeling that we’ve come to a point where this is now on standby, and to be honest, whether the screen will be switched off or switched on, I don’t know for sure.”
TIF Thoughts…
As such, it would appear what Auclair is suggesting is that the fact the Newcastle deal has been talked about so much in the media does not bode well for the takeover, as well stating that he is completely unsure as to which way the Premier League will go with their decision.
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However, with Premier League CEO Richard Masters recently stating that he would like a decision on the deal to be made soon, it would appear that there is not much longer to wait for us to find out whether or not the takeover will indeed go through.