Mike Ashley’s time as Newcastle United owner appears to be coming to an end, with a takeover finally set to go through.
There have been many false dawns for Newcastle fans, but Ashley is finally set to sell up. The BBC report that a £300million deal, headed up by financier Amanda Staveley and involving Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and The Reuben Brothers is close.
Steve Bruce should have massive money to spend this summer, and if he’s still in charge, the takeover may just give Preston something to sweat over.
Last summer, The Sun reported that Bruce had picked out Preston defender Ben Davies as a top Newcastle target, but no move ended up going through before the end of the summer window.
The 24-year-old has continued to star for Preston this season, and he will surely still be on Bruce’s radar having turned in a strong campaign.
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If Preston can’t win promotion this season, it will be difficult to keep hold of Davies anyway. Yet with Newcastle now potentially having big money to spend, they would surely be able to tempt North End into selling.
Davies has just over a year left on his Preston contract, so he will likely move on this summer – just like Jordan Hugill, Greg Cunningham and Callum Robinson did when their deals were running down.
It would be little surprise to see Bruce reignite that Davies interest if he does receive huge money to spend, handing Newcastle a talented, ball-playing defender who can build attacks on the left-hand side of defence.
Bruce has used a three-man defence for large spells this season, and Davies would fit in as a left-sided centre back, rather than having to shove a right footer or left back Paul Dummett there.
Preston may have to keep an eye on this Newcastle takeover, and brace themselves for a potential Davies bid if Bruce keeps his job.