Middlemen interested in putting together a consortium to buy Newcastle United spent much of the winter approaching influential North East figures.
One such broker, who is believed to have had ties to Peter Kenyon, made numerous attempts to convince businesspeople in the region to agree to join their group.
Former Magpies owner Sir John Hall is understood to have been among those asked if he would be interested, but the man who built the Metrocentre does not want to be involved in any consortia to re-buy the club from Mike Ashley.
Newcastle set up internal due diligence for takeover parties, as Ashley waits for summer interest
The 86-year-old sold his 41.6 per cent stake in United to Ashley back in 2007 for around £55m, after determining that he could no longer compete with billionaire owners such as Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich.
But Sir John is not the only entrepreneur in the region who was tentatively approached, with brokers - including the one representing Kenyon - attempting to source additional investors for their respective consortia.
Former Manchester United and Chelsea CEO Kenyon was initially told by Ashley that he was the billionaire’s “preferred bidder” to buy the club. But, after more than six months of negotiations, the Sports Direct owner broke off talks following repeated failures by Kenyon to prove he had the funds to meet the £300m asking price.
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It could be seen as an optimistic sign that Rafa Benitez is refining his list of ideal Newcastle United summer transfer window targets.
Privately and publicly Benitez insists that is “normal” as he wants things to be moving if he stays at the club. But he certainly isn’t acting like a manager about to leave the club imminently with meetings with recrutiment chiefs and conversations with agents taking place.
With no further face to face talks having taken place yet, Benitez says publicly he wants the club to reach his safety mark of at least 38 points before he re-engages fully on the contract issue, there’s an element of uncertainty at the club. No-one has an inside track at the moment on whether he will stay, with even Newcastle’s power brokers and people close to Benitez uncertain about his intentions.
But it is accepted that Rafa Benitez's future no clearer as one BIG discussion is yet to take place if he gets assurances, most notably on recruitment.
Last summer, some of the tension came because Benitez presented a list that was headed by Andros Townsend but also included Salomon Rondon and Craig Dawson – all viewed as expensive and the wrong side of Newcastle’s age profile. Benitez will be expecting United to view the Rondon gamble as a success and to show some flexibility while Newcastle will also hope Benitez’s list will include enough players at the 'right age' to make it easier to get past Ashley.
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BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand might – finally – get the chance to justify his controversial comments about Mike Ashley in three weeks, when Newcastle’s game against Southampton is the game’s live Saturday night match.
Ferdinand is one of BT’s marquee pundits but sparked outrage among Newcastle fans with a defence of Ashley’s ownership that included incorrect figures. It sparked Rio Ferdinand's defence of Mike Ashley one of the most complained about sports broadcasts in last five years although none were upheld – and Ferdinand was widely criticised, including by friends Alan Shearer and Ian Wright.
Ferdinand’s response was to post a Tweet with a fishing rod emoji, which seemed to suggest that he was winding Newcastle fans.
BT have had United matches on since but none in the Saturday slot that they usually employ Ferdinand for, and it would be a surprise if the broadcaster missed a trick by not making the most of the undoubted interest there would be in the ex-England defender talking about Newcastle once more.
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Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez will surely be hoping that the Magpies do not have Mike Dean appointed to officiate any of their remaining games this season.
The Magpies boss could not hide his frustrations at Dean’s performance on the south coast during the 2-2 draw against AFC Bournemouth. In his post-match press conference, Benitez fumed at Dean’s decision to award a penalty against Federico Fernandez, while opting against Newcastle a spot-kick for fouls on Salomon Rondon and DeAndre Yedlin, or for failing to spot what he deemed to be a clear back-pass.
This came three months after the angriest post-match media briefing of Benitez’s reign, which also resulted from a questionable display from Dean in the middle.
The official sent off Yedlin during the 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James’ Park in December, but failed to dismiss Willy Boly - or award Newcastle a penalty - when the defender clearly elbowed Ayoze Perez in the face.
It is believed that the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) - the governing body responsible for referees - sent a letter to United apologising for the Boly incident.
That is the second such letter Newcastle received from the PGMOL in a 20-month period, too, having also been issued with one following Keith Stroud’s bizarre penalty decision during the Magpies’ 1-0 victory over Burton Albion in the Championship in April 2017.
Rafa Benitez calls for use of VAR again after Federico Fernandez incident costs his side dear
Rafa Benitez's future no clearer as one BIG discussion is yet to take place
