The January transfer window looms large as Mike Ashley and Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners group continue takeover negotiations.

With significant distance in the expectations of Ashley and what Staveley is prepared to offer for a club that could find itself in relegation trouble, a deal is not close. But January – the last possible juncture at which a takeover could impact on-the-field matters by injecting funds into a player recruitment drive – certainly is.

Although there is a measure of uncertainty at the club about what exactly Ashley would sanction in terms of a budget, those at the club are planning for the possibility of an austerity transfer fund that may only stretch to loan deals and permanent signings that are dependent on player trading. If Staveley was able to broker a deal in the meantime – which now looks tough – there would be more funds available to bring in players.

(Image: PA)

Sources with knowledge of recent Premier League and Championship takeovers point out that there is a possibility – in theory at least – of a third way next month. If progress is made on a takeover – perhaps the bid moves into the exclusivity phase – and there is a confidence that the deal will get done money could be provided by prospective new owners to fund player purchases which would help to secure their investment.

It’s understood that this happened in a recent Championship takeover and was also the case when Manchester City changed hands in 2008. That deal to buy the club from UK Sports Investments Ltd was not officially completed until September 21 – but £32.5million had been advanced to sign Robinho in what was then a British transfer record at the start of the same month.

What it requires is trust, assurances and – crucially – an agreement on price. The City deal was effectively done long before the statement confirming the change of ownership because a price had been agreed. That allowed due diligence to take place, investments to be made and plans to be written up long before they had officially taken charge.

Any money advanced for player purchases could take the form of a loan that would be recalled if the takeover then fell through, although Ashley would surely only sanction that if he was certain that a takeover was in the offing.

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The reason that this is an issue is that the longer the takeover negotiations go on, the less prospect there is of completing the necessary paperwork to get the deal done by the January transfer window.

Exclusivity – the period when all other bidders apart from the group who have agreed a price in principle are locked out of the takeover process – can take two or three weeks alone. Then there is the Premier League’s fit and proper person test: which requires checks to be carried out on potential new owners, the source of their finance and also their business plan to keep the club solvent for the next few years to be ratified.

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In one report on Tuesday it was suggested that this should be factored into the takeover timeline and could cause a delay but that’s not necessarily the case. Sources at the Premier League say this can be done “quite quickly” – in a matter of days – if the source of funding is relatively straightforward and there is not a complex source of funding.

It’s understood that the deal that saw Southampton taken over was held up for months because the source of funding changed mid-way through the verification process, causing it to start again. If Staveley has everything in place there is no reason why the Premier League’s rules would hold it up for long.

The bigger issue at the moment appears to be the club’s position in the Premier League. Newcastle could be dragged into a relegation battle and interested parties would - naturally – want an insurance against a demotion that would wipe hundreds of millions off the club’s valuation. A proposed relegation clause that might see money paid back in the case of relegation is a red line for Ashley.

Again, there are creative solutions available if both parties continue negotiations in good faith. The recent Aston Villa deal was closed for a bargain price – but it’s understood that there is a sizeable sum to be paid to Randy Lerner in the event the club are promoted back to the Premier League.