Time is running out for Newcastle United

Only club Premier League club is yet to sign a player so far this summer. And it’s Newcastle United.

That same club is without a manager following the departure of Rafa Benitez, now at Dalian Yifang in China.

Time is now running out for the club to appoint a new manager before the squad departs for the Premier League Asia Trophy.

And what about a takeover? Time is running out for that too before this summer’s transfer window closes on August 8.

In the meantime, Academy coaches Neil Redfearn and Ben Dawson have been preparing the squad for next week’s tournament in China. They could well in the dugout for the July 17 game against Wolverhampton Wanderers in Nanjing.

There will be a press conference before that game, and it will be the first time a senior club employee will have spoken in public since Benitez addressed journalists after Newcastle’s 4-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on May 12.

United have made no comment on the progress with a takeover this summer, though a Dubai-based journalist yesterday issued a new statement from the Bin Zayed Group, which claimed it had “agreed terms” on a deal in late May.

It read: "Both parties have worked diligently in finalising a deal, none more so than ourselves. We have completed every aspect required in a takeover process.

“Press claims of no bids or Premier League approval processes are simply untrue.

“The current owners have cooperated amicably throughout this process, and if a deal is not forthcoming, it will not be due to lack of effort from both parties.”

What did it mean? The statement doesn’t say much, though there seems to be a subtext.

The group seems to be suggesting it has done everything it can up to now.

Fans have asked if the same can be said for owner Mike Ashley, a maverick who has his own way of doing business.

Only time will tell how willing Ashley is to sell. The club, however, is fast running out of time ahead of the new season.