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Newcastle United takeover talks halted by Mike Ashley after Tuesday news – Report

3 years ago
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Newcastle United takeover talks have been put on hold until further notice.

This news reported on Tuesday morning following an official statement by the club.

That official statement (see below) had seen Newcastle United confirm that Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron were now injured. The club stating that the pair wouldn’t be back until sometime in April at the earliest.

With Callum Wilson already out injured for the foreseeable, ASM and Almiron were Newcastle’s two key attacking players.

Now the trio are all ruled out for an unknown number of key games, even Mike Ashley is now accepting that Newcastle United are indeed in a relegation battle.

This has been very much apparent to Newcastle fans for some considerable time, a run of only two wins in seventeen games impossible to ignore, including just nine points from fifteen Premier League matches.

For neutrals, including the bookies, it looks very much like a two club race for the third relegation spot, with Newcastle and Fulham fighting it out. Fulham are slight favourites to go down but if they win at home against Spurs on Thursday, they will go up to seventeenth place, with NUFC dropping into the bottom three and becoming the bookies’ favourites to be relegated ahead of Fulham.

It is the Telegraph reporting that they have been told this morning that Mike Ashley has accepted the obvious, that Newcastle are in a relegation battle, which subsequently makes Newcastle United takeover talks meaningless, until the relegation issue is sorted.

Justin Barnes is part of Mike Ashley’s long-term Sports Direct empire inner circle and despite having no official title at the club, is the person who the owner relies on when it comes to running Newcastle United, particularly any important issues regarding ownership and potential sale of the club. Justin Barnes (pictured above on the left) with the responsibility / power, rather than Lee Charnley.

Bottom line is that not even the Saudis, assuming they do still want the club, would pay a Premier League price for a Championship club, never mind the extra premium more than the club is worth they they were prepared to pay to tempt Mike Ashley to sell.

With Mike Ashley, there is no way if Newcastle were relegated, he would accept anything like a reduced valuation that demotion would inevitably bring.

In the middle of this we are relying on two wins in seventeen (only eleven PL wins in the last fifteen months and 46 games) Steve Bruce to oversee a ‘successful’ final 11 weeks to deliver Premier League survival.

As ever, you just couldn’t it up…

Luke Edwards who covers Newcastle United for The Telegraph:

“To underline how significant this blow is, I’m told this morning all Newcastle United takeover conversations have been halted by Justin Barnes and the club is, effectively, no longer for sale.

“Everything paused until relegation matters decided.”

This morning’s Newcastle United official statement:

‘Newcastle United forwards Miguel Almirón and Allan Saint-Maximin will be out of action until April after picking up injuries during the Magpies’ 1-1 draw with Wolves on Saturday.

Almirón sustained a knee injury and had to be replaced at half time, while Saint-Maximin suffered a groin injury in the 63rd minute.

Both have undergone scans and will continue their rehabilitation with the club’s medical team.

Defender Emil Krafth, who was substituted in the same game, is set to resume training later this week.​’

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