Simon Jordan has revealed a quite shocking claim on Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.

Speaking on talkSPORT (via The Chronicle), the former owner of Crystal Palace claimed that the chief executive of Sports Direct bought the Tyneside club to win a bet:

"Mike Ashley has done a lot of things wrong at that football club and I think he was stupid to have bought it in the first place, and I told him so at the time.

"I think the idea of buying it was a bet between him and Paul Kemsley, the ex-vice-chairman at Spurs, that he wouldn't do it.

"Mike was in a different state of mind at the time. He didn't realise what the landscape of football can be like."

Shocking

Since Ashley launched his takeover in the North East back in 2007, the highest that the Magpies have finished in the Premier League is 5th, while they have also been relegated twice down to the EFL Championship (Transfermarkt).

In Ashley's reign, the Toon Army have also only managed to go as far as the quarter-finals in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup (Transfermarkt), in what has been a pretty dismal period for NUFC fans.

If what Jordan says is true, it suggests that Ashley's lack of ambition during his tenure is easily explainable - why would someone invest heavily into something they only bought for a laugh in the first place?

It really is a quite shocking claim, and yet more reason why Newcastle fans are desperate for the proposed takeover which was blocked last year.

In other news, find out what transfer blow the Toon have been dealt here!