Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan is convinced Mike Ashley is serious about selling Newcastle United.

On the takeover, he says Ashley could do a deal quickly and even if it goes beyond January he think he will sell up.

Jordan told talkSPORT: “He's looking to sell. Absolutely he's looking to sell.

“Unequivocally this time without a shadow of doubt from my vantage point without actually having spoken to Mike for a significant passage of time, reading the signs, knowing how deals get done, last year with Staveley came to the table I pretty much said: 'This deal will not get done, it will not get done.'

“This time there's a different feel to it, there's a different metric to it and look from it. Ashley is going to sell this football club. Now it's not going to hold them back in January from spending money because if he has to spend money he will add it to the ticket. If he doesn't have to write a cheque for it someone else is paying for it and so be it.

"With Mike I absolutely believe he should sell. I believe he will sell this time, I don't believe it's a PR spin.

“If I was him I wouldn't want to be there anymore. It's so toxic and debilitating for everyone at the football club – he's never going to recover from the impression that he's not there for the football club when they need him."