Newcastle: Amanda Staveley outlines bold vision for the Tyneside club following £305m takeover

Newcastle United’s new owners say they want to transform the club into a superpower like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain after completing their £305million takeover.

Speaking to Sportsmail inside her hotel suite on Tyneside, co-owner Amanda Staveley outlined the ambition of the consortium, backed by Saudi Arabia’s £700billion Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The Magpies now boast the wealthiest football-club owners on the planet and, as thousands of supporters celebrated at St James’ Park, Staveley told us: ‘Of course we have the same ambitions as Manchester City and PSG in terms of trophies, absolutely, but that will take time.

Newcastle United’s long-awaited £305million Saudi takeover was completed on Thursday

Newcastle’s new owners want to transform the club into football’s new superpower like Man City and are targeting a Premier League title within the next five or 10 years

‘Do we want to win the Premier League within five to 10 years? Yes. This takeover is hugely transformative. We want to see trophies. But trophies need investment, time, patience and team work.’

Head coach Steve Bruce is set to lose his job and we understand the new owners are ready to pay the £8million needed to remove him.

They are aware of the negative impact it could have if he remains in charge for the first game of their regime at home to Spurs a week on Sunday.

However, they are also mindful of the difficulties they could face in appointing a new manager, especially if their top targets are already in a job.

Club’s new co-owner Staveley outlined the ambition of the consortium to Sportsmail 

Staveley and the board – including PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Jamie Reuben – will be making the decision on a managerial change.

We are told they would prefer to make an appointment with Premier League experience, and Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers is one name that has been mooted in recent days.

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is also said to be intrigued by what is set to happen at St James’, and sources in Scotland believe this will be his final season at Ibrox.

Former Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez would have been installed had the takeover not collapsed last year, but he decided to join Everton this summer before the deal was revived.

Supporters will be relieved to know that Bruce’s days are numbered. A poll just this week revealed that 94 per cent of fans want him to resign.

Under-fire Newcastle manager Steve Bruce will be axed with a £8million pay-off 

That, though, was always unlikely given the mega payoff he is owed. Outgoing owner Mike Ashley was also reluctant to foot the compensation bill, an issue now inherited by the new owners and one they accept they need to deal with.

We understand they will sound out senior players such as captain Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Ritchie to get a feel for the mood and what is needed to help improve results, as Staveley admitted: ‘Performances could do with some improvement. This squad should not be in 19th position.’

Meanwhile, we can reveal that the consortium have already made contact with club legends Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan with a view to roles within their structure, most likely to be ambassadorial. 

They will also look to move Shearer’s statue from its current spot on the site of some old public toilets outside St James’.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers is one name that has been mooted in recent days

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is also said to be intrigued by what is set to happen at St James’

The Premier League finally signed off on the deal yesterday after being given assurances of separation between the majority owners of the club – PIF – and the Saudi state.

A statement said: ‘The Premier League has now received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United.

‘All parties are pleased to have concluded this process which gives certainty and clarity to Newcastle United and their fans.’