Lee Ryder has dropped some enticing insight from the Premier League on the upcoming anti-competition case involving Mike Ashley and Newcastle United.
The Lowdown: Legal battle
Mike Ashley has launched two separate claims against the English top flight over the failed takeover deal between him and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.
One is the arbitration case due to take place this summer, and the other is the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) lawsuit over their decision-making process with regards to the failed takeover bid.
The Latest: Premier League insight
Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ryder has shared that Ashley is facing strong opposition from Premier League chiefs who are denying any suggestion that his wish to sell the North East club was rejected.
Subsequently, the top flight are trying to get his CAT case thrown out, as they go through detailed evidence put forward recently.
Ryder adds that although there has been no decision made as of yet over when the anti-competition case can get under way, Ashley has been briefed that this could change at any time, and it looks likely that it will roll on in July.
The Verdict: Intriguing
It is certainly odd to hear that the Premier League are denying any suggestion that the proposed deal between Ashley and the KSA group was rejected in their quest to get the CAT case thrown out.
The St. James’ Park faithful clearly feel the opposite, and so it will no doubt be interesting to see what the results of both cases will be and how the league’s plot pans out.
Nonetheless, if the Tyneside club are successful in the legal saga, they will then need full cooperation from the top flight with regards to speeding up the takeover process.
With the summer transfer window already underway, and the start of the new 2021/22 season set to start in August, this will be vital if they are to make an immediate impression if the bid is able to go through.
In other news, find out what latest news the consortium are ‘devastated’ by here!