Newcastle want Staveley to increase £300m offer

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley will challenge prospective buyer Amanda Staveley to come back with a serious offer to buy the club after an opening bid of less than £300million was rejected.

Newcastle are braced for a second offer in the next few days and want to see a significant increase in the amount of money on the table. Although Ashley is willing to take payment in instalments, there is much work to be done in terms of agreeing an acceptable price.

If that does not happen, the talks will be on the brink of collapse and the club would effectively be taken off the market. Staveley and her PCP financial backers are the only serious bidders and Ashley does not want a prospective takeover hanging over the business all season.

The thought of Ashley ending his attempts to find a buyer will send a shudder through supporters, who are desperate to see the end of his regime. Ashley is genuine in his desire to sell but will not be messed around – and there is a growing concern within St James’ Park that negotiations with Staveley are not progressing as they should. Suspicions have been heightened by the fact news of the bid, which was made last week, has been leaked when both parties signed nondisclosure agreements. Indeed, sources close to the talks have even said Staveley could be using Newcastle to raise her own profile, although it is difficult to see why she would want, or need, to do so.

Those close to her insist that her interest is sincere and she believes Newcastle are a club with great potential. However, when Ashley launched his takeover bid of Newcastle 10 years ago, there was no publicity and the deal was done before anything came out in the media. He has always been wary of those who court publicity when trying to do business deals.

As things stand, negotiations will continue and a second bid is anticipated before the end of the week after both sides denied reports the first was a take it or leave it offer.

Manager Rafa Benitez has remained level-headed and will only believe a takeover is going to happen when the contracts are signed. Although Benitez has a list of potential transfer targets for January, he does not know if there will be money to spend and has played down suggestions he will be given £100 million if Staveley completes a takeover before the end of the year.