Interest in Newcastle mounts
The man working to sell Newcastle United on behalf of Mike Ashley has revealed there is "real and decent interest" in the club from a number of parties, and he is hopeful a deal can be done by July.
Keith Harris, the chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, said there are "two or three" interested parties, and hinted that some of that interest comes from the United Kingdom.
"I'm confident...that there will be offers for Mike to consider in quite short order," Harris told Radio Five Live's Sportsweek. "There is real and decent interest, this is not necessarily from far flung parts of the globe and those expressing interest when it was first marketed but this is good, gritty interest."
Despite Newcastle's relegation and the huge sums lost on his investment by Ashley, Harris said the Magpies remain an attractive proposition because of the infrastructure and potential at St James' Park.
"It is a huge club," he said. "If you think in attendance terms last year, it exceeded Liverpool, averaging 48,000 and Liverpool a little over 45,000.
"If you walk around the infrastructure, the training ground, the academy, if you're a person who is willing to take a view over the next two to three years, this is a club that belongs in the top seven."
