Mike Ashley has been warned that Newcastle United becomes a much less enticing club to buy should they be relegated.
The Magpies rescued a draw with Aston Villa on Friday evening thanks to Jamaal Lascelles' late goal, but their poor run of form means they remain in a relegation battle.
Reports in midweek claimed that Newcastle's squad have no relegation clauses in their contracts, which is customary for Premier League clubs and would mean that players' wages are not impacted should the Magpies drop into the Championship.
With Ashley looking to sell the club and a high-profile takeover by Amanda Staveley's Saudi Arabia-backed consortium still mooted, a football finance expert has warned that, if the lack of relegation clauses in contracts is correct, the Magpies become much less of an attractive prospect in the Championship.
Speaking to Football Insider, Price of Football's Kieran Maguire said the amount of money being spent on wages in the Championship would put prospective buyers off.
He said: "My main concern would be that, should the worst happen and Newcastle were relegated, it makes them less attractive to a prospective new owner because they’ll say: 'Well, I’m buying a club which has got these white elephants.'
"That would impact on A) whether prospective buyers want to buy Newcastle and B) the price they will offer Mike Ashley.
"I wouldn’t want to pay more money because if I’ve got a player on £40,000-per-week for the next three years, that’s over £6m on someone who I’m not really going to get much of a return on.
"If the players aren’t happy, you don’t want unhappy players at the club.
"What are you going to do with them?"
