Jamie Carragher warns Newcastle United’s prospective new owners about ‘big problem’

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As Newcastle United appear to be on the verge of a takeover, Premier League legend Jamie Carragher has issued a warning to the prospective new owners.

The Magpies are in the final stages of a takeover bid, with the club now very close to being bought off Mike Ashley, as was reported by talkSPORT on Wednesday.

PCP Capital Partners, headed by Amanda Staveley, have brokered the £300million deal which is being backed by the Saudi Arabian royal family’s Public Investment Fund.

Ashley and PCP have entered into a binding agreement, with terms agreed last week and a deposit paid, and documentation has been sent to the Premier League.

Newcastle’s prospective new owners are expected to have major ambitions upon arriving at St. James’ Park.

However, Carragher has warned them not to simply “throw big money” in hopes of climbing into the Premier League’s upper echelons in a short space of time.

“The big problem you’ll have is what every other club has had when they think they can challenge for the top four,” Carragher told Sky Sports, as quoted by The Express.

“I look at teams like Everton and West Ham who threw big money at it thinking they could really challenge that top six or top four, and it’s very, very difficult. And then all of a sudden before you know it you’re in big problems yourself financially because you’re trying to attack those top clubs and it’s very, very difficult.

“I think it is difficult to get Newcastle back to where they were in terms of challenging for a league, I don’t see that. But in terms of maybe challenging for European places, trying to get into the top six, as I said teams like Everton and West Ham are, but it’s not easy.”

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Carragher is right to urge caution over owners spending too much too soon in order to facilitate an instant rise into European place or even title contention.

That said, the Saudi group is reported to have assets of more than $320billion, so talk of big financial problems for the owners may not necessarily be the case here.

Also, Wolves enjoyed a swift rise from the Championship into the Europa League within a short space of time, and they’re still going strong, so it’s not impossible for a quick impact to happen.

And who’s to say Newcastle can’t one day challenge for the title after a few years of building a world class team? After all, if Leicester City can win the title…