Newcastle United takeover not yet off Mike Ashley or Premier League table as Amanda Staveley plots next move

Yesterday brought the news the £300 million bid to wrestle control from Ashley was 'off', with the consortium releasing a joint statement confirming the news.

It read: "With a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club. We do so with regret as we were excited & fully committed to invest in the great city of Newcastle and believe we could have returned the Club to the position of its history, tradition and fans’ merit. Unfortunately, the prolonged process under the current circumstances coupled with global uncertainty has rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable."

The Gazette has learned that were PIF, PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers to recommit to the purchase they could so so without penalty, with the Premier League not having to restart the exhaustive owners and directors testing from scratch. Ashley is also unlikely to request a second deposit from PCP, according to sources close to the bid.

Sports Direct tycoon Ashley remains a willing seller of the football club – and remains content with selling to the bidding consortium, with no real alternatives believed to be in play.

Despite reports, there has been no bid by Clear TV and Henry Mauriss, with many fans expressing scepticism towards the American media man's reported £350 million interest.

But with deal detail proving a real sticking point, is there a way back for the consortium in its current guise? A restructure with the Saudis cut out is not even thought to be under consideration, with PIF a huge part of the package since its inception in May 2019.

The decision to step back from the deal was mainly driven by PIF, with Saudi chiefs growing increasingly frustrated at the hoops they were being asked to jump through by the Premier League.

The deal hit a legal stalemate around three weeks ago with the Premier League wanting the KSA state to be named as the majority owners of Newcastle United, instead of PIF. This was because the Premier League legal team found it difficult to unpick the links between PIF and the Saudi state.

And while the Saudis declined the prospect of a state purchase, they did offer for PIF itself, the actual organisation, to be subjected to owners and directors test scrutiny, not just named directors such as Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

It appears as if this was not enough to satisfy the regulatory body and with no end in sight, the plug was pulled, with the Premier League not having to give a yes or no to the bid, failing to complete their owners and directors test, despite having 16 weeks to do so.

Premier League rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were two clubs who 'briefed' against the green light for the deal, according to deal sources, in an attempt by two of the league's most powerful clubs to exert influence over the governing body.

Reports of Ashley shifting the goalposts following the ending of a deal deadline have been confirmed, with the owner looking to squeeze extra cash out of PIF, PCP and the Reubens at the end of June.

Were the bid to be revived Ashley has slightly upped his asking price for the club – but this would not be a dealbreaker for the consortium, who still, in parts, possess a keen desire to invest in United, despite yesterday's developments.

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