George Caulkin of the Athletic has delivered a fresh new update on the Newcastle United takeover saga.
Earlier today, BBC journalist Ian Dennis reported:
The WTO report says “should the Premier League approve the Newcastle takeover by KSA, it would be acting inconsistently with its own decisions and factual evidence as part of the WTO proceedings”.
The tweet was later deleted.
Tariq Panja of the New York Times has claimed that the WTO itself has not weighed in on the Newcastle deal specifically.
The Guardian has further added today that the controversial £300m Saudi Arabia-funded takeover of Newcastle United now appears to be in serious doubt.
However, Caulkin, one of the well-connected journalists covering Newcastle, has claimed that the potential new owners have been answering questions on piracy recently.
Waiting, yes. But mainly waiting for the Premier League, fullstop. Piracy is the issue they’ve been answering questions on recently anyway.
— George Caulkin (@GeorgeCaulkin) June 16, 2020
The potential new owners – the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Reuben Brothers and PCP Capital Partners – have already agreed a £300m deal with Mike Ashley and have paid a part-payment in the region of £17m which is non-refundable.
The latest report from WTO could have a massive bearing in the Newcastle United takeover saga. They will publish the report around 3 pm BST.
It remains to be seen whether the report leaves any impact in Premier League’s decision in giving the potential owners the green signal to go ahead with the deal.