The Athletic’s George Caulkin has been discussing the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi-backed consortium on a recent edition of the Pod On The Tyne.
The discussion around the potential sale of the club came up on the podcast following a poll the journalist put out via his Twitter account in which he asked supporters to vote on whether or not they wanted to see the Saudi-led takeover go through. This comes after it was confirmed last week that Mike Ashley and the club are involved in legal proceedings with the Premier League following the collapse of the deal earlier this year when the consortium pulled out.
Caulkin was joined on the show by fellow journalist Chris Waugh and host Taylor Payne, here is what he had to say with regards to the whole situation.
“Here we are, all these months later, whatever it is, nine months later – and it still hasn’t happened, and they still haven’t gone away, and they’re still trying.
“I don’t think there’s any sense – certainly from my conversations with them – that anything is imminent. Certainly, I’d be very surprised if there’s any sort of positive development this year, but they’re still there.”
Do you still want to see the Saudi-led takeover completed?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on George Caulkin’s comments regarding the takeover…
Although the journalist confirmed the interest is still there, he didn’t appear to have much hope there will be a “positive development” between now and the end of the year. Judging by the fact that Mike Ashley has decided to move forward with legal action against the governing body, you could be forgiven for thinking the 56-year-old is confident, with the help of his legal team, a deal can still be achieved.
Along with all the uncertainty off the field, things haven’t gone so well on the pitch either. The Magpies have won just one of their last five Premier League fixtures despite bringing in Ryan Fraser, Jamal Lewis, Callum Wilson, Jeff Hendrick and Mark Gillespie over the summer (as per Transfermarkt).
In our view, it could probably be argued the takeover saga is proving to be a bit of a distraction on the field and unless the form of Steve Bruce’s side improves, they could find themselves fighting for survival in the Premier League come the end of the season.