Newcastle United takeover talks have reached a stalemate that could see the collapse of Amanda Staveley’s bid to buy the club from Mike Ashley.

Staveley had a bid of less than £300m turned down more than a fortnight ago and has not returned with an improved offer since, despite being told that she was nowhere near the asking price with her initial approach.

Instead, there has been a slight change in the terms of payment, with the money offered in one lump sum, rather than in performance-related instalments, but the gap between their respective valuations remains a huge barrier to a deal being done.

Given Staveley was told the opening bid was not thought to be a serious offer, the failure to improve it has prompted hopes of that takeover can be completed to fade dramatically.

Ashley has even started to question whether she is serious about buying the club because of the lack of progress since the opening bid was made, although those close to Staveley insist she is merely negotiating a fair price. Given Ashley’s track record in business, she may well be disappointed as he has rarely backed down.

Mike Ashley had been hoping to prompt a rival bid credit: Getty images

As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Ashley had been hoping initial contact from another interested party last week would lead to a rival bid, but those talks have also failed to progress and Staveley’s offer remains the only one on the table.

A source close to the talks has told Telegraph Sport that both Ashley and Staveley are refusing to budge and the deal could be wrecked by the fact neither wants to be seen to buckle as the haggle over a price.

A compromise price of around £300m could be achieved, but at the moment Ashley has stated he wants well in excess of that figure and is waiting for Staveley to make the next move.

In turn, Staveley has denied reports that she will walk away from the deal if he does not accept the offer that is currently on the table.

That has frustrated Ashley but he will not walk away from the negotiations at this stage, despite previously stating that if he did not find a buyer before Christmas he would take the club off the market.