Newcastle United have been at the centre of much interest recently, although not specifically for the team’s gameplay on the pitch. Instead, much of the talk has been over whether or not a takeover of the club will take place at some point in the near future. Suggestions have been made that a Middle Eastern consortium are in talks with Mike Ashley over purchasing the team.
Bookies Assess How Close a Newcastle United Takeover Could Be
Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has already been repeatedly connected with the purchase of the Premier League team, and high odds are being offered at a number of online sportsbooks for this to actually happen in 2020. Yet, is it really possible for him to do so, considering he also has designs on buying Manchester United, too? Well, the Saudi prince is known for his lavish spending, so there’s little doubt that he can afford it.
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The Story Surrounding Newcastle’s Potential Purchase
While it may seem quite odd that the purchase of Newcastle United is even on the cards, supporters of the club have boycotted matches throughout this season in a bid to protest ownership by Mike Ashley. Therefore, the odds of him accepting a bid price and moving on before the year is out are quite high.
A spokesman for the Paddy Power bookmaker said that while both Newcastle and Manchester United have been linked to Saudi takeover bids, “we make it more likely that Mike Ashley decides to sell up than the Glazers”.
The team hasn’t particularly impressed much in recent games though, with a 0-0 outcome to their first February fixture against Norwich. While it did see Newcastle rise up to 31 points in total, it turned out to be quite the difficult game to spectate, as they seemed to be in dire straits against the team which currently sits at the bottom of the Premier League.
Yet, perhaps an alternative bid to the one supposedly made by the Middle Eastern consortium is in the works. News recently broke of interest from Amanda Staveley, who should be quite the familiar name for United fans. Of course, Staveley has had multiple connections in the past with Middle Eastern investors, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that she has some sort of link with the potential purchase of United. She is also currently married to Iranian-born Mehrdad Ghodoussi, a managing partner at PCP Capital Partners.
Whatever the outcome, the thought process of most people is that Newcastle will be sold on before 2020 comes to an end, and potentially before the summer months arrive. Could United fans see their last of Mike Ashley in due course?