Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has reportedly insisted that he wants a takeover involving Sheikh Khaled done inside two weeks in a bid to speed things up.
The Premier League giants have seen their summer plans stutter thus far as with the talks over a £350m takeover ongoing, Rafa Benitez’s exit was also confirmed last week with his contract set to expire.
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In turn, there is a lot to be sorted out on Tyneside in the coming weeks, as they haven’t even begun to look at transfer activity to improve the squad ahead of next season.
As reported by the Daily Star, Ashley now wants to know what the ownership situation will be sooner rather than later as if he’s still in charge at Newcastle heading into the latter stages of the summer, then he will have to take on a hands-on approach himself rather than wait for news.
“What I’ve been told is that Ashley himself has put a deadline on these discussions about a takeover for this summer and that he wants a decision one way or the other inside the next two weeks,” Duncan Castles is quoted as saying.
“Ashley realises if you don’t have a buyer as we get closer and closer to the edge of the transfer window, you have a problem.
“And if he doesn’t have a buyer, he’s going to have to manage the club going into next season.
“That deadline that I’ve been told of would give him about a month before the transfer window closes, in which to buy and sell players for Newcastle for next season and to sort out the issue of manager.”
It’s a sensible strategy in truth, but given how unpopular he has proven to be with Newcastle fans over the years, it’s unlikely that he’ll receive any credit for it.
