Plenty of Newcastle United fans are not too confident of their side’s chances of escaping relegation at the end of 2020-21 after just two victories and two draws in their last 13 Premier League games, and with Fulham breathing down the Magpies’ necks, not many would blame them.
Only six points stand between Steve Bruce’s side and the Cottagers, and that difference is nothing with 14 games still to be played.
While plenty of Newcastle fans do not see a lot of reasons why they should be optimistic about the rest of the season, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh believes that the fact that a takeover may still happen should cheer them up.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund officially withdrew their takeover bid last July, and a secret arbitration hearing has been ongoing for a while as owner Mike Ashley’s lawyers lead a case against the Premier League to settle the key issue which saw the prospective takeover fall through.
They are hoping to establish whether there is a separation between the PIF and the Saudi state and who Newcastle’s ultimate owners would be.
While the buying side reckons that arbitration may be concluded by the end of February, nothing is guaranteed yet given the private nature of proceedings.
According to Waugh, PIF will only officially resubmit their takeover bid if and when they are given strong assurances that the deal would be approved this time, and it will be interesting to see how things go.
Ashley knows dropping to the Championship could potentially wipe at least 50% off Newcastle’s current value, and he will be hoping that does not happen.
Safety is far from being guaranteed, and the results from the coming weeks will definitely have a huge say on the club’s immediate future on and off the pitch.
In other news, American investor sees Newcastle as an alternative as he plots Premier League takeover.
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