Newcastle United announced that they would be extending their sponsorship deal with FUN88 for the long-term on Monday morning and the news has now left supporters rather anxious about their prospects of seeing the takeover go through.
In response to the club’s Twitter post on the new partnership, there were fans claiming that it definitely wasn’t going to happen and that it was worrying.
However, as he often does, Steve Wraith has delivered an encouraging verdict on the £300m takeover following these fresh reports.
Is the takeover....?
On!
Off!
He claims that the agreement with FUN88 was reached back in January – before the takeover saga even began – and they are merely announcing it now. The Geordie actor also goes on to suggest that it has no bearing on the Saudi’s bid whatsoever.
Wraith said:
It is my understanding that this deal was signed sealed and delivered in January and they are only announcing it now. No concerns for #NUFCTakeover at all #nufc @oldheatonian @geordiedentist https://t.co/rPbi8qY34V
— Steve Wraith (@stevewraith) July 20, 2020
This is obviously rather positive news as it would appear that the club is merely continuing on as usual under Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley.
There’s also the issue of a betting company sponsoring a Saudi-run outfit, considering the country is strictly anti-gambling, but that is an issue that can be resolved at a later date – especially as the Premier League are yet to approve the takeover.
Although to wait seven months to announce the extension to the partnership is rather perplexing, it won’t have any impact on the likelihood of the PL passing or rejecting Amanda Staveley’s consortium, which is a huge boost given the number of twists we’ve been dealt in the past 17 weeks.