Kieran Maguire: Staveley may be unable to fund Newcastle signings as £10m ‘anchor’ analysed
Amanda Staveley had to borrow £10million to seal the Newcastle United takeover – that doesn’t bode well for their transfer ambitions.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the legal case involving former Magpies owner Mike Ashley.
Staveley led the consortium that completed the £305m buyout of Newcastle in October last year, and she now co-owns a 10 per cent stake in the club.
Sky Sports reported last Saturday (22 January) that Ashley is launching a £10m High Court action after Staveley violated the terms of a takeover loan.
Ashley’s representatives claim that Staveley publicly criticised the retail baron on eight occasions, which breached the stipulations of the contract.
Maguire suggests that the fact Staveley was forced to borrow the cash in the first place does not fill him with confidence with regards to recruitment.
“It is a slight cause for concern,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“If she couldn’t put forward the 10 per cent of the sale price without having to buy from Ashley, it has implications going forward.
“If the club wants to spend £500m in the transfer market has she got to go and find £50m?
“That could be a challenge. I suppose the club could fund transfer acquisitions through loans.
“But I got the impression that through Islamic banking rules, they wouldn’t be particularly keen to go down that route.
“Although, Newcastle is a UK company so it isn’t subject to Islamic banking.
“But this could still act as a potential anchor to spend the sums that the fans want to see invested in the squad.”
The Magpies have signed Chris Wood from Burnley and Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid this January.
This site also revealed last Wednesday (26 January) that they are set to sign Lyon midfielder Bruno Guimaraes for £35.5m.
In other news, pundit tips Newcastle United to sign Divock Origi “now” after source’s £37.5m update.