Peter Kenyon’s Newcastle United Reportedly Takeover at “advanced and positive” Stage

The sale of the club seemed to be a lost hope for many Newcastle supporters, as the narratives surrounding the club sound all too familiar.

Another such narrative came out today as it was revealed by The Chronicle that Mike Ashley has given all interested parties an extension on when they could submit their bids. Something that was somewhat obvious because the goal of selling the club before January did not happen.

Additionally, reports surfaced that Peter Kenyon has had “advanced and positive discussions” on a deal for the purchase of the club, after a letter written by him to Mike Ashley was leaked to the press.

In a letter from Kenyon, he states that he is keen to “finalise” the agreement between the club and his consortium in due course.

The letter goes on to mention that Ashley thinks Kenyon and his consortium are the best fit to take over the club, that Kenyon wants a deal done quickly and that Ashley has invested heavily with time as well as money in selling the club.

The letter is printed in full within The Chronicle’s article on the Kenyon update, and it is understood that they were the first to obtain the leaked letter.

Fans are very split on the news concerning the letter, as many see it as more smoke and mirrors from Mike Ashley, while others have regained hope in a deal being done.

It is easy to understand why fans remain doubtful of any real update concerning the sale as this letter conveniently surfaced a day after The Magpie Group's letter to Mike Ashley. Additionally, this gives Ashley another excuse to not spend in January, if there is a common belief a deal to sell the club will be done soon. A popular opinion among fans is that this is simply another PR stunt, and any deal will conveniently fall apart at the end of the January window, just like the Staveley deal a year ago.

We as a site put out a Twitter poll to gauge the pulse of the fans, and it appears as if many of our readers are not confident a deal will get done before the season ends.

Despite doubts from fans, the staff of The Chronicle are ensuring that this letter is not a Mike Ashley fabrication, and is a genuine plea to get a deal done by Kenyon.

Other journalists, like Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, also believe Kenyon’s letter is legit, and his interest is real.

There is still the possibility however, that this is just a PR stunt by Peter Kenyon as well, in order to garner support from the public with the hopes Ashley is pressured into selling the club. This is a tactic Amanda Staveley employed, with no success, as Mark Douglas mentions.

Mark wisely mentions that the intentions for releasing this letter are unknown, implying that it is possible that this is a PR stunt by either side. Regardless, as Douglas points out, this is an update worth reporting on.

Do you think the interest is genuine or is this another PR stunt by Mike Ashley?