The Athletic’s George Caulkin has claimed that the Saudi Arabian-backed consortium would still be interested in owning Newcastle United if they were relegated.
Currently, Steve Bruce’s side occupies 16th spot in the Premier League table, just two positions above the bottom three in the division (as per BBC).
From their opening 20 matches in the top flight this term, the Toon have accrued 19 points, which leaves them with a seven-point lead above Fulham in 18th.
At the same time as Newcastle are battling to stay in the division, Mike Ashley has initiated an arbitration process to force through the Saudi-backed takeover bid for the club (per Chronicle Live).
During the latest episode of The Athletic’s Pod On The Tyne podcast, Caulkin claimed that the consortium would still be interested if Newcastle are relegated.
He said: “The other side of it, though – what happens if the club gets relegated and the takeover still hasn’t gone through? That’s something that gets asked a lot.
“Well, I’m told – this isn’t definitive – that yes, there would still be an interest, that Newcastle is seen as the right club – but – the price would be different.
“And what Mike Ashley would then think about that is, well, we don’t know for certain – but that doesn’t feel very positive.
“In any case, probably the bigger picture is that if the takeover has not been resolved by the end of the season, it’s not going to get resolved.
“But yes, there is certainly concern about the league position because people coming into the club want to come into a Premier League club.”
TIF Thoughts on what George Caulkin said about the consortium’s interest…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, he believes that the Saudi-backed consortium would still be interested in Newcastle if they were relegated.
However, Caulkin also believes that is fairly irrelevant because the takeover will never be resolved if it has not been decided by the end of the current campaign.
Do you think Newcastle will be relegated this season?
Yes, we are doomed
No, we will be fine
With the Toon having failed to win any of their last eight league games – losing six of them – it is clear that Steve Bruce’s side is currently in dire form (per Transfermarkt).
So, hopefully, the Magpies can turn their current form around and return to winning ways to avoid any further issues regarding a takeover of the club.