Newcastle United’s takeover looks like lurching into a crisis as the team drop deeper into relegation trouble.
With no deal in prospect between Mike Ashley and Amanda Staveley before the New Year, manager Rafa Benitez will be forced to rely on Ashley’s generosity in the January transfer window, with the manager having told club executives that they need to sign at least three players to be able to fight off the relegation threat.
Given that would require a spend of more than £40million, that looks unlikely to happen, which in itself is an issue for Staveley and her team, given that a club threatened by relegation from Premier League would be worth considerably less than a mid-table one.