Report: Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley to step down from Sports Direct role

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While Mike Ashley isn’t leaving Newcastle United this summer, it appears he could be leaving Sports Direct.

That’s according to the Telegraph, who state that Ashley is set to step down from his role as chief executive.

Instead, his prospective son-in-law will take over. Meanwhile, Ashley will become deputy chairman of the Fraser Group.

But while it’s all change for Ashley’s business empire, status quo resumes at St James’ Park.

All change at Sports Direct for Mike Ashley, but not at Newcastle

In an ideal world, he would have left Newcastle last summer when he agreed a deal to sell the club.

But that didn’t happen, with the Premier League unwilling to approve the sale.

That forced the takeover saga into the courtrooms, which is where it remains.

It looked like there could be a conclusion this summer, but that is no longer the case.

Arbitration has been delayed until 2022, while jurisdiction over the CAT case will take place in September to determine whether or not the hearing goes ahead.

It seems highly unlikely that Ashley’s change of role within his business will impact his position at St James’ Park. As always, it will be Lee Charnley running the club on a day-to-day-basis. Meanwhile, Steve Bruce will remain as manager.

Whether or not this decision from Ashley has anything to do with his collapsed plans to sell Newcastle, we do not know.

But what we do know is that our absent owner has left the club in limbo, with no new signings and no hope less than two weeks away from the start of the Premier League season.