The wannabe owner of Newcastle United from 2019 have been handed a deadline after their bid to buy Derby County appears to have hit trouble.
Two years ago, under the guise of the Bin Zayed Group, Sheikh Khaled went public with his desire to take over from Mike Ashley but the deal never materialised and the Sports Direct magnate dismissed them in public a few months later.
Now the Rams have set Sheikh Khaled and prospective buyers Derventio Holdings a deadline with Derby supremo Mel Morris indicating there are two other buyers waiting to get involved.
A report on Sky Sports reads: "It is thought that Morris has not given up hope on Derventio - led by Sheikh Khaled, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family - completing a deal to buy Derby, after both parties signed a sale agreement in November.
"Since then, the takeover has stalled, with several expected completion dates missed.
"Derventio have now been given a short extension to come up with the purchase funds, Sky Sports News has been told, but it has been made clear to them there will be no further extensions after this point.
"Morris is unable to pursue any other bids, until such time when the contract with Derventio is deemed legally void.
"The EFL sanctioned the takeover by Sheikh Khaled four months ago, and has been waiting - like Morris - for the protracted deal to be completed.
"The EFL declined to comment when contacted by Sky Sports News on Wednesday evening."
Ashley said in 2019, when asked about Bin Zayed Group: "The last bid, the one from UAE, he's a prince and he's got £38bn or £100bn, all these numbers — well, why would you even care what you're paying then?
"What difference would £10m either way make?
"You would want speed, you would want certainty, you would want the keys and to get on with it."
