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Two months after he assumed control, Mike Ashley, the billionaire owner of Newcastle, is discussing a sale to an Icelandic entrepreneur. Palmi Haraldsson, a businessman who has stakes in a string of British retailers including Hamleys, Goldsmiths and (appropriately) frozen food store Iceland, has held talks about a £135m bid for the Magpies. It has been claimed that Ashley wished to sell the business because he realised he could make a profit and secure a deal that would be beneficial to Sports Direct, his retail chain. Only last week he had to plough some £30m into the club to refinance some of the £80m debt he inherited. If Newcastle was taken over, it would join West Ham as the second Icelandic owned club in the Premiership.
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