Newcastle United are allegedly one step closer to agreeing to a deal involving the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
While there were strong rumours about this deal in January, it had allegedly gone stale due to the fact that many of the details of the negotiations were linked, as per reports from the Shields Gazette.
However, the latest reports from the Telegraph say that the move is in fact moving forward, with the Premier League being notified of a bid led by the Public Investment of Saudi Arabia.
Within the report, it states that the Public Investment Fund of Saudia Arabia (PIF) are looking to invest in an 80 per cent chunk of the stake, while 10 per cent is wanted by Amanda Staveley’s PCPC Capital, while the remaining 10 per cent is wanted by the Reuben Brothers, who are locally known around Newcastle, owning the racecourse.
If the deal is completed, it would mean that the PIF governer, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, would likely become the club’s new chairman, with Staveley and Jamie Rueben set to be amongst the directors.
Reportedly, the consortium made contact with the Premier League a few days ago, which is obviously a strange time with the coronavirus outbreak going on, meaning a response from the Premier League could take quite some time, as well as many other aspects of the deal.
Now the league will undergo the process of doing the fit and proper person test on those who are making the offer, to see whether they are able to take on the responsibility.
The report still alludes to the fact that negotiations with Mike Ashley have been problematic.
Despite Newcastle fans being desperate for Ashley to leave the club, they will reserve their excitement for this news – as they had exhausted much of their optimism when the deal seemed to have cooled earlier in the year.