This key Newcastle United figure could follow Lee Charnley out of the club

Charnley, the club’s managing director, will stay on to oversee the handover if a £300million takeover, led by financier Amanda Staveley and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and billionaire property investors David and Simon Reuben, is approved by the Premier League.

Staveley’s consortium plans widespread changes at St James’s Park.

And head of recruitment Steve Nickson is also expected to leave should the deal, which is opposed by Amnesty International and broadcasters beIN Sports, be given the go-ahead by the Premier League.

Nickson – who drew up a list of potential summer transfer targets before the coronavirus pandemic saw football suspended across the world – was put on furlough by Charnley last month along with his recruitment team and a large number of the club’s non-playing staff.

Charnley joined Newcastle more than 20 years ago, and was previously club secretary.

Staveley and Jamie Reuben, son of David, are expected to take senior roles at the club, which was put up for sale by Mike Ashley in late 2017.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of PIF and governor of Saudi Aramco, is expected to be named as United chairman.

The club’s prospective owners are also expected to appoint a new director of football if they assume control of the club, which is 13th in the Premier League, in the coming weeks.

Head coach Steve Bruce, controversially appointed as Rafa Benitez’s successor last summer, is said to “fear” for his future at the club if the takeover is completed.

The Gazette, however, understands that there will not be an immediate managerial change, and that Bruce will stay in place until the end of the season at least.

Benitez and Mauricio Pochettino, sacked as Tottenham Hotspur manager last season, are contenders to replace Bruce if Staveley and her backers do decide to make a managerial change in the summer.

However, Benitez, a hugely-popular figure on Tyneside, is under contract at Chinese club Dalian Yifang.

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