Welcome to our Newcastle United live blog for Wednesday, May 13.
The proposed takeover deal of the Magpies is now understood to be in the hands of the Premier League and fans are hoping for an announcement soon.
The club have maintained their "no comment" status on all enquiries, but it's understood that the group looking to broker a buy out of the Magpies remain confident that they will be able to confirm the deal soon.
Follow live updates below or get the latest NUFC news and takeover updates straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter.
Key Events
EFL clubs told not to return to training until May 25
EFL statement:
The EFL Board has met today to further consider the many complex financial and operational matters resulting out of the COVID-19 crisis, including how the 2019/20 campaign is concluded.
While there is much debate and discussion taking place publicly and privately regarding what should, or could, happen next, the EFL will continue to undertake consultation with our members before the next steps are determined.
Current attention is clearly on the immediate next steps, but the long-term impact on the League and its Clubs remains as stark as previously outlined, and solutions are still required to fill the financial hole left by the crisis. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic will not be rectified simply by a return to play behind closed doors.
In addition, the EFL is mindful of the pressing need for clarity in a number of areas, including the practicalities and timeframes of Clubs being able to facilitate a return to training. To address this, Clubs have today been issued with the latest draft of the EFL’s ‘Return to Training Protocols’, so that they can prepare appropriately.
However, until all outstanding matters are concluded, including finalising a comprehensive testing programme on matchdays and non-matchdays, the EFL Board has informed its Clubs that a return to training should not take place until 25 May at the earliest.
Dialogue continues with our colleagues across the footballing and political landscape regarding these and other issues, and the EFL is committed to keeping all relevant parties updated on key decisions and developments as they occur.
Q8: Can PL clubs come together to block the takeover?
Can Premier League clubs really come together to “block” a takeover in the final stages? Like Project Restart, it’s clearly interest-based. Fear of competition within the monopoly of the elite.
If that was the case, then I don’t think Manchester United or Arsenal would have put up with Chelsea’s takeover in 2005 and in turn Chelsea didn’t make any noise about Man City’s Middle East takeover. The test isn’t based on what other clubs think, it’s based on whether the owners will be fit and proper.
Q7: Do would-be owners have plans for training ground?
Do the would-be owners have any plans for the training ground?
I’m sure that the would-be owners will have done their homework on the the training ground and know it is in need of an update.
NUFC failed to buy land that sat in front of them and next door to them at Benton for years. Housing firms have snapped up the land and NUFC are boxed in with very little privacy to be honest.
Whether the new owners will feel a new base is required remains to be seen but they do have a fair amount of space already. It just could have been so much better had the club not been neglected in the last 13 years.
Q6: Can PL decision be swayed by level of negativity from people writing letters?
Can the Premier League decision be swayed at all by the level of negativity from the people writing letters and voicing their options on the takeover?
I don’t think there is anything in the test that says opinions of others can sway the Premier League. Also, much of this test has already been done and Newcastle’s would-be owners have made their way through a lot of hoops to get to this point.
Q5: Are new documents anything to worry about?
Are the new documents anything to worry about?
The would-be buyers feel everything they have put to the Premier League stands up to the test. It is believed to be a strong and ambitious package too so hopefully fans will get the news they have been praying for.
Q4: How come there are so many transfer links out there before takeover is sorted?
How come there are so many transfer links out there at the moment before the takeover is even sorted?
This comes due to agents seeing an opportunity for their clients. In the past top agents haven’t wasted time going to Newcastle because the club’s wage policy is well known. Were Newcastle to end up wealthy after this, they’d be in the same ball park as many others. Some of the names bandied around are premature but they’d be in with a chance of signing them should they fancy it.
Q3: What does Ashley make of this?
What does Mike Ashley make of all of this? Is he really frustrated with the would-be buyers?
Mike Ashley has refused to speak to anybody in all of this - including those who are close to him. We had hints earlier in the year about Ashley joking about checking his mail box to see if the cheque had arrived but the whole thing got ramped up during lockdown and this has been deemed an opportunity for buyer and seller.
The picture at St James’ Park is grim for Ashley if he stays. Empty grounds, no match day revenue and the possibility of repaying TV money back to broadcasters. There will be work to do for new owners but this is no longer the money making machine it once was to Mike Ashley.
Q2: Have you heard anything from buyer's end?
Have you heard anything from the buyers end about their view on what is going on with PL tests?
I think they are waiting patiently with the Premier League. It’s never really got to this stage before so it is now down to the top-flight to weigh up everything that’s in front of them and make a decision. I think it’s been one of the most public owner’s and director’s test we’ve ever seen with everybody weighing in with an opinion. The would-be buyers believe everything has been done properly.
Q1: What stage is the takeover at?
What stage is the takeover at?
We’re in the hands of the Premier League and the latter stages of the owner’s and director’s test. Until that gets confirmed the deal can’t move. Once it does and it gets approved as the would-be buyers believe it will, the funds must then change hands and the club will be under new management.
Les Ferdinand opens up on relationship with Alan Shearer
"He would say: 'Les, should we have a go at them today?' And we would go: 'Yeah, go on then'.
"We just enjoyed our football, we enjoyed playing together and I knew what I was going to get from him and he knew what he was going to get from me.
"If I weren't quite giving him what he wanted he was down the back of my throat and vice-versa. It just clicked for us.
"The great thing about that Newcastle side is that we were all great friends off the pitch. Everybody would say to me: 'What's Alan like?'
"I would say, like a load of the players I worked with, that he is a great fella and I still speak to Alan today. I wouldn't say we were great friends off of it but I would say we were decent enough friends off the pitch."
Expert gives view on takeover...
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has explained the delay behind the Newcastle United takeover and is confident that the Premier League will not intervene to block the change of hands.
Mike Ashley's 13-year reign at St. James' Park is set to come to a close with the Saudi-backed takeover on the brink of completion, although it has attracted plenty of criticism.
One issue that has been raised is the piracy problem in Saudi Arabia, which has been streaming Qatar-based BeIN Sports illegally, causing frustration for the Premier League and their biggest overseas broadcaster.
However, while this remains an issue that needs to be resolved, Maguire believes the takeover could actually help get to the root of the problem.
"The Premier League are unhappy with what has happened with their Middle Eastern broadcasting partner and the piracy but, having said that, there is piracy all over the world," he told Chronicle Live.
"I think the Premier League would like a resolution to this and it could be that Newcastle being acquired by a Saudi company might actually make things better for all parties.”
Graeme Souness claims on Amanda Staveley
Speaking to the The Football Show on Sky Sports, Souness said: '"Could I just tell a quick story. I went to Dubai 12-13 years ago, stayed in the Atlantis Hotel, walked around with my wife and my son, went to Nobu restaurant which was empty after lunch and on my way out, there were some people at the bar.
"On the way out, someone came over and introduced themselves, then a lady came over and joined us and she introduced herself as Amanda and said she was a Liverpool supporter.
"During the conversation, she said I'm responsible for taking the Abu Dhabi family to Man City.
"I said, 'five minutes ago you said you were a Liverpool supporter, why did you not take them to Liverpool?'
"She said, 'I tried and I tried but Gillett and Hicks were so difficult to deal with they just walked away in the end.'
Jonjo Shelvey on the NUFC takeover...
Speakng to Beautiful Game Podcast, he said:“We’re the same as the fans. We don’t know what’s going on. I read the internet or Sky Sports to see if there’s a latest update. We don’t get told anything. If it happens, it happens. To be honest, the club has been in this situation on numerous occasions. That club pays your wages so for me it doesn’t matter who is in charge or whatever, you just go in and do your job every day.
“For the fans they want a change of ownership and if it happens it’d be good for the fans, the club and probably the city. But like I say I’m literally looking every day to see what’s happened. You do see this hashtag #cans everywhere!"
NUFC takeover update: Lee Ryder with the latest
Newcastle United's would-be owners are letting the Premier League get on with their job of completing the owner's and director's test as the club's takeover drama approaches the end game, writes Lee Ryder.
A fresh spate of reports suggested delays have been caused following the presentation of new documents underlining links between Saudi Arabia's government and pirate pay television broadcaster BeoutQ.
However, there were understood to be no red flags raised when beIN Sport raised their concerns to the Premier League recently and the final stages of the test are now being processed.
Further reports that suggest rival Premier League clubs have opposed the deal on commercial concerns have also surfaced in the last 24 hours.
But we understand the views of other clubs can't influence the tests especially at the process started over a month ago.
Diego Gavilan on his Toon career
Speaking to Lee Ryder, the former Toon midfielder has shared his memories of his time on Tyneside.
"It was a very important experience in my career and being 19-years-old in a very competitive league in Europe has undoubtedly helped my professional and personal growth.
"Sir Bobby Robson was one of the most important people in my professional career.
"It has helped me in many factors as a player.
"He was a father figure to me at the time."
Jonjo Shelvey on his ability...
Jonjo Shelvey has revealed it is flattering to be spoken about as a player deemed good enough to play for Barcelona.
The Newcastle United midfielder is the club's top scorer with five goals this term but during lockdown he was hailed by his team-mate Matt Ritchie.
The praise resulted in Shelvey being inundated with text messages from team-mates on the prospect.
Shelvey, speaking to Sky Sports, said: "Someone sent me a picture of me in a Barcelona shirt next to Messi.
"Matty text me saying he's had everyone asking him, 'is he really that good? Is he really that good?'
"It's very flattering for people to say stuff like that and Matty obviously knows his football. But I was a bit peed off that he said I play golf three times a week. He's killed me with that."
Reports - Saudi Armaco to breach debt levels
Compared with western oil companies, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company appears in robust financial health.
On Tuesday, it reported $16.6 billion in profits in the first quarter, more than double the combined profits of the top five western oil and gas companies, as the impact of the coronavirus-related travel restrictions began to be felt.
Aramco shares were up 1.2% at 1442 GMT.
But, although Aramco amassed $15 billion in cash, that was not enough to pay its $18.8 billion dividend for the quarter, when global benchmark Brent crude oil prices averaged $50 a barrel.
“Aramco would be borrowing to pay its dividend, which cannot be sustainable in the long term,” Bernstein analysts said in a note.
The ratio between Aramco’s debt and its market value, or gearing, dropped to minus 5% in the quarter. That compares with a gearing range of 11% to 36% for its western rivals.
Yoan Gouffran on his Newcastle United career
A player who divided opinion at Newcastle United, Yoan Gouffran turned out to be essential in Newcastle's Championship-winning season.
He's spoken to us about his time on Tyneside.
Gouffran told ChronicleLive: "I started to think about leaving the club, and in pre-season Rafa said to me maybe this is better for everybody if you leave.
"He was honest with me, that's what I liked in Rafa. I said to him to give me some days to find a new club, no problem and good luck.
"The season started and we had some bad results again. I was training hard to leave the club, but Rafa came back to me and said I need you.
"I was happy to hear that and I gave everything for him."
Les Ferdinand reflects on NUFC's 1996 title challenge
Speaking on talkSPORT's new series 'Up Front With', Ferdinand said:
“There weren’t many players in our changing room that had won things.
“So when we lost the first three points, rather than a thing of ‘come on chaps, we’ve lost three points, we’ve got to make sure this doesn’t happen again, we’ve got to get back on our mettle’, it was a little bit more like, ‘it’s all right, we’ve lost three points, we’re nine points clear, we’ll win our game in hand and we’ll be 12 points clear again’.
“As a group, we didn’t really have any tactics. The tactics were, ‘you score two, we’ll score three’.
“As we know in the Premier League there’s got to be games that you win one-nil and we just didn’t have that. We were probably a little bit too gung-ho.”
On this day in 2018
Newcastle United finished the season in style with a 3-0 win over Chelsea.
Transfer expert tips Newcastle to make Odsonne Edouard move
Newcastle are known to be keen on a move for the Celtic forward and despite Arsenal 'leading the way' for his signature, transfer expert Ian McGarry expects the Magpies' prospective new owners to make a move.
McGarry said on the Transfer Window podcast:
"He has been attracting interest from a lot of clubs, mainly in the Premier League but also in Europe as well.
"A player who has been instrumental this season in Celtic's rise to be 13 points ahead of Rangers as things stand.
"There is interest from Newcastle United who are determined to make sensible investments regarding player recruitment rather than using the scattergun approach which other Premier League clubs who have been taken over and invested in by nation states or indeed wealthy individuals [have used].
"Edouard is valued at £40m by Celtic but of course in this current market they're unlikely to achieve that kind of figure for the player.
"Newcastle are still waiting for their takeover to be confirmed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund but are very keen to take Edouard, partly on the basis that he is someone who wants to play football every week, he and his representatives have stated to interested parties that he doesn't want to go to a club where he will be second or third choice, he wants to develop his career in a very constructive and progressive way.
"Money is not the be-all and end-all at this stage in his career and also obviously a move from Glasgow to Newcastle for the France striker would not be as much as a shock I suspect."
Newcastle United target opens up on his future
Before takeover talk took hold, Newcastle were in talks to sign Motherwell goalkeeper Mark Gillespie on a free transfer.
The Newcastle United academy graduate was keen to return to Tyneside but the 28-year-old's future is now up in the air amid the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the takeover talk.
Gillespie is a target of the current regime and it remains to be seen whether new owners would still sanction a deal for the former Carlisle United goalkeeper.
It was our sister title, the Daily Record, that broke news of Newcastle's interest in Gillespie and he has now addressed his future with the same title.
“My future is up in the air at the moment until everyone knows the situation with the wider game.
“Clubs, players, managers don’t know what’s coming next week never mind next season.
“Once it becomes clear where the leagues stand and things like that there will be conversations to be had."