Takeover Speculation- Is Newcastle Nearing a Sale?

With the club up for sale, fans were, and still are, excited for pretty much anyone to buy the club from Mike Ashley. In fact, with the right owners, fans and pundits alike believe that Newcastle is just a sleeping giant, waiting to be woken up. How do fans stay patient over claims like this?

It’s been a little over a month since Amanda Staveley’s name started to pop up everywhere around Newcastle United. It was affter a 1-1 draw against Liverpool back in October, Staveley’s attendance to the game was talked about heavily and speculated as the takeover talk carried on. She is no stranger to Premier League club sales as she had been involved in the high-profile purchase of Manchester City back in 2008. Immediately following that purchase were large bids for players including one that broke the British transfer record at the time (Robinho from Real Madrid). This is something Newcastle has been lacking, big name signings. Something fans have been urging the club to do, but Mike Ashley has been holding Newcastle back.

This brings us to today. After about a month since the Due Diligence process began, a report from the Daily Star claims that the sale of the club will be confirmed this week. A mighty claim, but does it make sense? Should we trust it?

Taking a closer look at this “exclusive”, my answer, and I’m sure most fans would agree, is no. But where does that leave the negotiations? The Due Diligence process has no time limit or set date of completion. With that being said, news on the takeover has been very silent since that process started up, at least, until this week. Both sides of the deal, Staveley and Ashley, want a deal done by Christmas. One reason being so that Staveley can finance Benitez properly for the upcoming transfer window. A hefty 100 million pounds was stated as the potential kitty that Benitez would be left to use as he pleases. Giving Benitez time and money to make important decisions over the transfer window is a no brainer. Holes in the lineup can easily be filled with this potential financial backing. Once filled, this team can be a serious contender in a league where few teams can find consistent success.

There is still a lot of time before the transfer window hits in January, giving the takeover negotiations plenty of space to move and progress. With all this uncertainty going around, Rafa Benitez may even have two transfer lists prepared. One with the idea of financial backing from Amanda Staveley’s group and the other with the idea of Mike Ashley’s ownership being prolonged. Either way, Rafa Benitez will be ready to take this club in the right direction.