A takeover of Newcastle United may still be on as Mike Ashley has reportedly set a deadline for Henry Mauriss to reach an agreement with him over a possible sale.
According to the Daily Mirror, the American businessman will have until August 14th to come up with a deal with the chief executive of Sports Direct, otherwise it looks like there may be no takeover at St. James' Park before the start of the new 2020/21 season.
As per the Mirror, he is understood to be willing to pay £350 million, which is £50 million more than the proposed offer by the Saudi-led consortium.
Chris Ronnie, who is a long-time associate of Ashley and, ironically, an old school friend of Steve Bruce, is steering the negotiations.
There is apparently some hope that an agreement can be made in the coming days, and if this does indeed happen, then it would be in the hands of the Premier League once again to approve of it.
The top flight were accused by the Saudis of taking too long to make their final decision, and so Mauriss may have to wait patiently if he is able to put his bid through.
The teams of the California-based chief executive of Clear TV and Ashley himself are understood to have spoken at length over the past week, as sources claim that the former has the adequate funds needed, but the latter needs concrete proof that Mauriss is in a position to transfer them.
Nevertheless, everything is all speculation up until this moment in time, but this my give some hope to members of the Toon Army.
Geordies, would you be happy with Mauriss as your new owner? Comment below!