Former Newcastle United owner ‘in talks’ with Reading over potential takeover

Mike Ashley is in talks to buy League One club Reading following protests over their current owner Yongge Dai. Reading were relegated from the Championship last season after being handed a six-point deduction by the EFL for breaching the terms of a profit and sustainability plan.

Reading fans protested against their owner at the weekend - a protest which saw their game against Portsmouth halted numerous times after tennis balls were thrown from the stands onto the pitch. Despite leading 2-0 early on, the Royals would eventually fall to a 3-2 defeat.

Over two years on from selling Newcastle United, Ashley is reportedly interested in getting back into football club ownership and is in talks with Reading over a potential bid. Reading confirmed earlier this month that ‘several’ parties had approached them with interest in buying the club.

William Storey, who has been heavily-linked with a takeover at Sunderland in the recent past, is also interested in buying Reading and is leading a consortium in a proposed £50m deal. Talk Sport report that delegates from Ashley’s Frasers Group flew to Berkshire on Sunday to meet Yongge’s representatives to begin talks over a potential deal.

Ashley has been out of football since leaving Newcastle United in October 2021, although his group did purchase Coventry City’s CBS Arena after agreeing a deal with SISU. Newcastle United were relegated twice during Ashley’s 14-year reign at the club and saw their commercial revenue fall drastically behind their Premier League rivals during that time.