Report: Mike Ashley aims to wring more cash from Newcastle sale

Mike Ashley wants Amanda Staveley to make a better offer for Newcastle United before he allows her firm to enter a contract of exclusivity.

Although club owner Ashley's asking price - believed to be in the region of £400 million - appears unrealistic, the Guardian's Louise Taylor reports he'll only agree to a sale in principle if the current bid of around £300 million from Staveley's firm, PCP Capital Partners, is increased.

However, the tabled offer is apparently near the maximum Staveley is prepared to part with for Newcastle.

If Staveley and Ashley do compromise on their valuations, a month-long period of formal due diligence will begin. Lawyers acting for Staveley will then be able to discuss the framework of the deal in greater detail. Operation Loom, the continuing HRMC investigation into Newcastle allegedly evading taxes during past player transfers, presents a potential snag in talks. Staveley doesn't want to be accountable if hefty fines have to be covered in the future.

Dubai-based PCP Capital Partners was reportedly the final bidder on the table after a total of five parties looked into purchasing Newcastle. Staveley's lawyers have already conducted preliminary due diligence on the Magpies' finances.

The timeline is tight. Ashley is apparently reluctant to provide funds for manager Rafa Benitez in the January window while he's in talks to sell the club, but Staveley is keen to work with the decorated gaffer and wants to back him in the transfer market. She hopes to enter the period of formal due diligence by the end of this week, thereby triggering the Premier League's month-long fit-and-proper-person test. That would make a takeover possible by the new year.