• Peter Kenyon understood to have put funding in place • Other bids believed to be from US, Middle East and Turkey

Mike Ashley is considering four bids in excess of £300m for Newcastle United as the owner attempts to push through a sale before January.

The sportswear tycoon revealed on Monday evening that he was in talks with several potential purchasers 14 months after placing the club on the market, and voiced his hope that a deal could be done within weeks.

Rafael Benítez remains diplomatic on subject of protest by Newcastle fans Read more

It is understood there are at least four interested parties, all of them based overseas, who have tabled offers and that talks are continuing amid optimism that Ashley’s timescale could be realistic. Peter Kenyon, the former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive, is reportedly ready to show his hand after spending several weeks attempting to put funding in place, while there have been suggestions that prospective purchasers from the United States, the Middle East and Turkey have made contact.

Ashley revealed in a rare television interview that ongoing negotiations were “at a more progressed stage than they’ve ever been” and, although his comments were greeted with scepticism by fans who saw Amanda Staveley’s proposed takeover collapse earlier this year, things appear to be developing apace.

He is keen to finally offload the club at the third time of asking after a turbulent 11 and a half years on Tyneside, during which he has been at odds with many of the supporters.

Disgruntled fans have made their feelings clear over his repeated failure to provide his managers, and in particular Rafael Benítez, with the funding to compete in the transfer market, with Ashley saying he cannot afford to do so. That has left Benítez’s future in doubt, with his current contract due to expire at the end of this season, and supporters will be hoping a swift and successful conclusion to talks could both secure the Spaniard’s continued presence and provide him with a meaningful budget for players.

Benítez insisted as he prepared for Wednesday night’s Premier League trip to Everton that it was “business as usual” and expressed his hope that his players would not be distracted by events behind the scenes. He said: “I will say that I hope it will not be a distraction. Why? Because the players, they know that they have to perform, that’s it.

“For us, we have experience of this. We are in the same situation that we were in before. When we say ‘business as usual’, it’s because we know that it will not change our plans. Our plans are to look for the [transfer] targets. Fine. We are looking for the targets, so it depends who is there and who is available. But for me, we carry on and thinking that Mike will be there, and we have to choose the right players for us. That’s it.”