Newcastle fans rejoice, the Mike Ashley era appears to finally be over.
The club's £300m takeover looks inevitable and bookmakers have already started to get the fans excited, pricing up several markets as a Saudi Arabian backed consortium goes through the final checks before taking over.
The deal would mark the end of Ashley’s controversial 13-year reign as Newcastle owner whilst also making the Tyneside club one of the richest in the world. The potential new owners are being backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) who will provide the majority of the funds. The PIF have more than £260 billion in assets and as such, Newcastle will be competing financially with the likes of PSG and Real Madrid.
Being compared to Europe’s giants has understandably got Newcastle fans struggling to contain their excitement, dreaming of big signings and winning titles. Here, we will look at all the betting markets being offered around the takeover, seeing how the bookmakers rate Newcastle’s chances of matching these big teams on the pitch and not just financially.