“The Profitable Group can confirm that it has expressed an initial interest in acquiring Newcastle United”

Seymour Price in charge of the sale of NUFC stated the following:

“A preliminary discussion with the representatives appointed to handle the sale of the club has been held, but contrary to some reports, no direct talks have been held with either the owner, Mike Ashley, or the chairman [sic], Derek Llambias.

“The group consider the leaking of the group’s interest in this matter unfortunate, and as supporters of Newcastle United, seek only to serve in the best interests of the club, the fans and the local community.

“The group will not be making any further comment at the present time.”

Sadly alas it was only a matter of time before the enevitable and he has went on record saying he wanted out (Who could blame him!). I would be VERY supprised if he doesnt end up in London soon, likely place? Arsenal!

Bassong stated:

“I want to leave,”

“I want to develop in the Premier League.”

“I will have to weigh up the pros and cons (of an offer), study the sporting project, the amount of playing time they would want to give me.”

I doubt a whip round would be sufficient to seize control!

“I’m confident there will be offers to consider in quite short order,”

“It’s a decent guess that there are two or three interested parties.”

“There is real and decent interest, and this is not necessarily from far-flung parts of the globe,”

“Newcastle had an awful season and got relegated so that has an implication for the value of an asset of a decrease to make it more attractive.”

Fill you with confidence? No me neither! He went on to cpomment on the Shearer scenario:

“Shearer is obviously a very charismatic figure in the area and Newcastle need some local interest,” said Harris. “He is a good commercial addition, certainly in terms of generating interest among the fans.

“Whether he is the right man to lead the club back into the Premier League is something other people will express a view on, especially if there is going to be a change of ownership.”

On the long term:

“It is a huge club. In attendance terms, last year it exceeded Liverpool with an average attendance over 48,000.”

“If you walk around the infrastructure of the ground, the training ground, the academy, what you realise is for somebody willing to take a view over two or three years this is a club that belongs in the top seven of the Premier League. It’s very attractive.”

”

Keith Harris, the chairman of Seymour Pierce, is believed to have travelled to the North East on Tuesday to hold talks with an anonymous group that is interested in buying the relegated Premier League club.

Harris was appointed to sell the Magpies last September as owner Ashley unsuccessfully looked for a way out in the wake of a backlash from fans, who had been angered by the departure of former manager Kevin Keegan.

A number of parties showed an interest in the Tyneside outfit, but a deal was not struck and Ashley ended his attempts to sell his ownership.

However, in the wake of the club’s fall into the Championship, the millionaire businessman is again looking to end his association with Newcastle, and talks are reported to be ongoing.

Meanwhile, boss Alan Shearer returned to Newcastle’s Darsley Park training ground early on Wednesday morning to continue discussions with managing director Derek Llambias.

The former Magpies and England captain returned to his hometown team on a temporary eight-game basis at the beginning of April, but both parties are thought to be keen to extend the deal.

Shearer has not held back in his criticism of Newcastle’s infrastructure in the wake of relegation, and he is considered to be the man to help regain a place in the top flight.”

“The table doesn’t lie,” he told The Sun.

“It’s been desperately poor all season and the worst thing is they didn’t even appear to try on Sunday.

“I’m not going to pull any punches. This current side is rubbish. Useless.”

On choosing the next manager, namely Shearer he stated:

“Shearer must stay,” he stated. “He doesn’t have experience but then neither did Kevin Keegan the first time round.

“But, like Keegan, the fans have faith in him. The club is in his blood and he is a rallying point for all the supporters.”

Ironically he may have inadvertantly put the club oin harms way when selling out to Mike Ashley in the first place. Freddy Shepherd also thought it would be a good oportunity to sly a swift kick in while decked:

“We were there for 16 years,” Shepherd told the BBC.

“To lose Premier League status is huge. It’s terrible for the supporters and I feel sorry for them.

“Everybody in world watches Premier League football but now they won’t be able to watch Newcastle.”

Regarding reports that he was set to front a takeover of the Magpies: “The club was taken off market, but we’ll see what happens.”

According to Mike Ahsley:

“Bringing Alan Shearer back to Newcastle United was the best decision I have made,” said Ashley.

“Alan and his staff did all they could to try and keep us up in the short space of time they had.

“Talks are now ongoing between us about how we can take this club forward again.”

Derek Llambias went on to say:

“We want him to be the manager 110%,” he said.

“He’s very good at what he does and he’s a straight-talking guy - we like that. He would be the perfect appointment.

“We are trying to sort something and we will give the public some information as soon as possible.

“Alan has put a lot of work into the job at Newcastle and we are talking to him now.”

“Seeing Newcastle relegated has been a catastrophe for us all,” he said.

“I fully accept that mistakes were made during this and previous seasons, and I am very sorry for that.”

“I would like to say sorry to our magnificent supporters who have turned up in their thousands, home and away, up and down the country and who have given the team amazing backing throughout,” added Ashley.

“And I would also say sorry to all of the club’s hard-working staff, who have gone about their jobs all year long.”

On beating the drop earlier if Shearer was in charge:

“No chance, absolutely not. It’s run properly now. It’s a proper football club.

“He gives you that confidence and for me to get back in there I owe him one. So obviously I’ve got a lot of thanks for him.

“The fans absolutely love him and as players we respect him. He demands the best from us. He wants us to play with smiles on our faces and that’s what we’re doing at the moment.

“I think that’s going to be probably the most important goal I’ll ever score. I think the Middlesbrough game is probably the biggest game in my career and I know some of the other lads’ careers as well. It was such a massive game. To win that was a relief more than anything.”

On Michael Owen:

“He’s club captain. He’s goals machine more than anything,” Taylor continued. “His record speaks for itself. When he plays you have confidence that he’ll find the back of the net.

“You give him the supply and service and I don’t think he’s really had that. I think his criticism is from people who don’t watch the games. They see Michael Owen’s name is not on the goal sheet.

“They’ve got to watch the game and see what he does for the team. Very rarely does he give the ball away. You put him in front of the goal with the ball he will score.”