Steve Wraith has issued a promising claim on the potential takeover of Newcastle United in an interview with Simon Jordan on talkSPORT.

The Lowdown: Arbitration delay

As per the official website of the North East club, the arbitration case between them and the Premier League has now been delayed until early 2022 because of issues with the disclosure of evidence.

The hearing was set to take place this month, but now further delays have been implemented.

The Latest: Wraith on takeover

In an exchange with former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan on talkSPORT, Wraith has issued a promising claim on the proposed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium:

“I don’t believe it’s over. Simon is a journalist…

“I have contacts on both sides of the deal. You say PIF have walked away. PIF are in contact with Newcastle United on a regular basis, Simon. 

“It’s because PIF are clearly still there, Amanda is still there and the Reubens are still there.

“It doesn’t matter how much cajoling and winding up that various people like to do. Various things have to be adhered to and followed.

“I do believe they are still there. I do believe the takeover can still go ahead. I do believe the CAT case has got a major part in this moving forward.

“We are embroiled in something, as supporters, in something we know very little about. I’ll hold my hands up, I’m not a legal beagle. I’ve not spent years at the Bar, but I do trust Nick De Marco (Mike Ashley’s lawyer) and I personally feel he will win the case for Newcastle.”

The Verdict: Promising

After all of the doom and gloom that came with the announcement of yet another delay in the takeover, with the arbitration process adjourned until next year, it is certainly promising to hear from Wraith's 'contacts' that a deal can still be done.

While the arbitration delay is not ideal at all, Ashley still has his Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) case to fall back on, which could perhaps pave a pathway for the process to be accelerated.

Nonetheless, he will still remain confident that he can get a positive result out of arbitration, and even though they have been made to wait longer, the Toon Army will not care one bit if the takeover is eventually completed.

In other news, find out which 'great talent' NUFC are prepared to bid for here!