Mike Ashley receives Newcastle United takeover bid

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has received an offer to sell the club from a financial firm led by businesswoman Amanda Staveley. The offer is believed to be around 300 million pounds and it comes after the two parties had been in talks for about a month. Newcastle United have not officially confirmed the bid. Mike Ashley had said on in October he wanted to sell the club after 10 years in charge. His intention was to sell the club by the end of the year and in order to make that happen he cut his asking price to 380 million pounds. 53-year-old Mike Ashley has been criticized by many of the Newcastle United supporters since taking over the club in 2007. He paid 134 million pounds for the club back then but during his tenure the Magpies got relegated from the Premier League on two occasions. The club's latest public accounts show a profit of around 900,000 pounds for the 2015-2016 season, right before they got relegated to the Championship. Last season the Magpies earned promotion back to the Premiership under manager Rafael Benitez. Amanda Staveley is not new to the world of football, in 2009 she brokered the deal that saw Sheikh Mansour bin-Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan gain ownership of Manchester City and she was also involved in the offer that Dubai International Capital made for Liverpool in 2008. Staveley, aged 44, was in the stands during Newcastle's 1-1 draw against Liverpool in October at St James' Park. The Magpies are currently 11th in the Premier League table after winning four of their twelve matches so far this season. Newcastle United are 7/5 at Bet365 to finish inside the Premier League top ten this season.