Olivier Bernard has boldly claimed that the Newcastle United takeover will be announced on Tuesday.
The bid put together by Amanda Staveley, and backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the Reuben Brothers, is currently in the hands of the Premier League, who are conducting their owners' and directors' test.
There is no formal guidance on how long that process can take and matters have been complicated by three separate parties being involved in the bid; the Premier League having their hands full with Project Restart; objections being raised when it comes to Saudi's alleged links with beoutQ and the country's human rights record; and everything having to be carried out virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But Bernard is '80% confident' that an announcement will be made on Tuesday and that has come from a 'good source'.
"The takeover is dragging far too long even though today [Monday] I heard it was happening tomorrow, but I hope it's happening tomorrow," the former Newcastle defender told Football Matters.
"I've had enough of it. It starts to build and then always they put it back, put it back, put it back but hopefully tomorrow it will be official."
The Premier League have repeatedly told ChronicleLive that they are unable to comment on the proposed takeover, but the buying side were confident earlier this month that the deal could soon be concluded.
While there have been no indications on when a decision could be made, Bernard believes it will happen today.
"I think it will be announced tomorrow [Tuesday] sometime," he added. "I believe it's been going on for far too long and day by day, you've got Sunderland fans being happier by the day so we need to make sure we take the smile away from their faces."
