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Newcastle United Fan View: Staveley wants to buy us so SELL UP NOW Ashley

I was sitting at home last night when my phone lit up, a Sky News alert saying Amanda Staveley/PCP had formally made an offer of around £300m for Newcastle United.

Brilliant, fantastic news I thought but then the rumours and speculation on Twitter started. The bid was less than £300m, it had already been rejected, it was a take it or leave it offer, it was made last week, NUFC are denying a bid. My elation soon turned in to deflation but having sat back, turned Twitter off and read some of the more informed stories this morning, there is definitely no need to panic for Newcastle United fans.

It started when Mike Ashley said the club was for sale. Some names were bandied about in the press, some fella who owned Jaffa Cakes said he wanted to buy the club, a link that quickly disappeared. The there were links from China, from Turkey and Russia and then Staveley turned up at St. James’ Park. I admit to knowing nothing about Staveley other than what I have read over the last few weeks. She is a rich woman, but not rich enough to buy the club herself; apparently she has the backing of Saudi/Arab money and could turn Newcastle United in to a real powerhouse – all good stuff so far, surely anyone is better than Ashley?

Unfortunately for me, my business and finance know how is slightly below zero so for now I will just have to sit backand see how things pan out. The noises coming from the usually relaiable local press are promising, the club is for sale, Staveley is interested, she did sign a non-disclosure agreement, she did go through the due diligence phase and she has made an offer; basically everything that needs to be done has been done. Now the ball is in Mike Ashley’s court and this is where things could get interesting.

Mike Ashley wants a sale done before Christmas, as do Newcastle United fans and I suspect so does Staveley. An early sale will give Rafa the best chance to improve his squad in January and a chance at securing Premier League football next season. Meaning the fans are happy, Staveley is happy and Ashley can sell a Premier League club for £300m+.

However, should a sale not be concluded and no investment is made, there is a very good chance that Newcastle could continue their slide down the table and be facing yet another relegation fight. Should Newcastle be relegated, there is not a chance Ashley will get anywhere near the £300m he is being offered now.

My gut feeling is Ashley will want more, closer to the £380m asking price but he is also not daft, he won’t want to invest in the side in January and he will want to sell a Premier League club. I think there is work to be done on the offer but the signs so far are positive and I am still dreaming of a Staveley led January transfer window in a few weeks time!