Manchester United's prospective takeover has seen several parties linked with the club, with reports this week claiming that Newcastle's owners could opt to sell the Magpies in order to purchase the Reds.
The Glazer family sent announced last month that they were "exploring strategic opportunities" for United, which could include selling the club.
Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at SKEMA Business School, has now suggested that United could potentially be bought by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which would require Newcastle's owners to sell the north-east club to acquire another Premier League side.
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"Newcastle United has always seemed like an opportunistic purchase and I think in essence the deal for Newcastle was sold heavily to them by intermediaries," Chadwick told The Athletic. "You had a willing seller and the amount of money they paid is small change. The opportunistic purchase of Newcastle, I think, was a consequence of being kicked back by Manchester United in the first place. There probably will be a certain amount of disbelief amongst Saudi officials having bought Newcastle when they really wanted to buy Manchester United.
"They are now in a position where they could potentially buy Manchester United. I might be going out on a bit of a limb here, but it is not entirely inconceivable that they could dispose of Newcastle and buy Manchester United."
While Chadwick's claims came as somewhat of a surprise to United and Newcastle supporters, it appears that a move for the Reds is unlikely given the recent comments from allies of Magpies chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, insisted the PIF was solely focused on Newcastle.
"PIF just invested in Newcastle and we are focusing on that. If there is a private investor that wants to come in, why not?" he told The Times.
"I think it is a good opportunity and if the numbers add up and, if we can all benefit from that from a business perspective, why not? If there is an opportunity that benefits us I would encourage the private sector to do so."
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