A source from Newcastle United has dropped a bombshell ahead of the opening of the summer window.

The Lowdown: Transfer window awaits

The summer transfer window is fast approaching, with the St. James' Park faithful looking to bring in some good additions as well as shift deadwood in order to have the best squad possible to compete in the 2021/22 Premier League season.

Joe Willock is likely to be a player that they will look to try and sign on a permanent deal from Arsenal given his impact in the North East, while other players, namely Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle for example, face uncertain futures.

The Latest: Transfer bombshell dropped

Football Insider revealed a "bombshell" on Tuesday evening - Mike Ashley is refusing to spend big while talks over a potential takeover of the Tyneside club by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group continue.

A source from the Magpies has told the news outlet that the board have now passed on the message to Steve Bruce that he will only have a transfer budget of between £8-10m to work with.

That would rule out the possibility of signing Willock permanently as the Gunners are thought to want closer to £20m, while quite frankly it is just a ridiculously low transfer kitty for an established top flight side in 2021.

The Verdict: Transfer blow

If the Toon only have a mere £8-10m to spend in the market, then that really is a big blow.

Not only would they likely miss out on Willock unless they could raise funds by selling other players, but it means that they would hardly be able to compete in the market against their fellow rivals in the top flight, despite the financial impact of the global pandemic.

NUFC will really want to kick on next season with fans back in the ground, but this latest piece of news will surely not appease them one bit, and now a takeover cannot come soon enough.

In other news, find out what 'fascinating' takeover insight a sports lawyer has dropped here!