Mike Ashley & Sheikh Khaled 'Agree Terms' Over £350m Newcastle United Takeover

Mike Ashley's ownership of Newcastle United appears to be finally coming to an end after Sheikh Khaled and the Sports Direct CEO 'agree terms' over a £350m

Mike Ashley's ownership of Newcastle United appears to be finally coming to an end after Sheikh Khaled and the Sports Direct CEO 'agree terms' over a £350m takeover of the Premier League club.

Fans of the north east outfit have been campaigning for Ashley to relinquish ownership of the club after years of a perceived lack of spending in the transfer market, and a disinterest in the side as a whole.

Clive Brunskill/GettyImages

Negotiations had been ongoing regarding a potential takeover for the last few weeks by the Skeikh Khaled-led Bin Zayed Group, with ChronicleLive reporter Lee Ryder claiming that the move is nearing completion - after both parties agreed details on what would be a multi-million pound takeover. With the move gathering momentum, a statement was released by the Bin Zayed Group regarding their bid to buy the St. James' Park side.

"In consideration of the numerous speculations in regards to the timelines of the acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club by Bin Zayed Group, we feel the need to issue this statement," managing director Midhat Kidwai said, via ChronicleLive.

"Terms have been agreed between us and Mike Ashley; these terms have been reflected in a document, signed by both parties, which has been forwarded to the Premier League.

Stu Forster/GettyImages

"The proof of funds statement was forwarded to Mike Ashley’s lawyers on 17 April 2019. The so called fit-and-proper Premier League process is a standard procedure which will take time, and we are doing all we can to assist the Premier League during this process. We feel the need to clarify this point in order for the fans and the general public to understand the timelines."

The future of manager Rafael Benitez still remains uncertain, however, with the Spaniard refusing to commit himself to the Premier League club until he is given certainties about the Magpies' spending power for the coming years.