‘She’s cashed out’ - Amanda Staveley ‘instrumental’ in striking ‘great deal’ for Newcastle United

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has hailed Amanda Staveley for her role in Newcastle United’s takeover.

It was widely reported in midweek that the Ripon-born investor will step down from her role at the Magpies. She is also expected to sell her six per cent stake - shared with husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi - to the Reuben brothers or the Public Investment Fund.

Staveley previously reduced her equity from 10 per cent and the bombshell news came after a raft of legal disputes. A high-profile court battle in March brought by Greek shipping tycoon Victor Restis could cost her £3.5million - but she has appealed the judge’s verdict.

Rewind to 2017 and it was Staveley who ultimately viewed Newcastle as the perfect investment opportunity. Her initial attempt to buy the club failed but she returned two-and-a-half years later backed by PIF - Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Ex-Palace chief Jordan publicly criticised the stalled takeover and has since slammed Staveley as “fake” for comments following the Carabao Cup final. But now her time on Tyneside is up, the 56-year-old has given Staveley credit for brokering the transformative £300million deal.

“Amanda got them (the Saudis)  in the door,” Jordan told talkSPORT. “They bought Newcastle and you look at it for around £300 million, you look at a team in the Premier League for £300 million. When you look at clubs being sold for £2.5billion, it’s a great deal. It’s a great deal.

“And she was instrumental in that, but it wasn’t her money. So with all due respect, she was clever at manipulating the circumstances to get people that wanted to buy a football club. She orchestrated a deal. She got 10 per cent shareholding out of it. She’s probably cashed out very nicely at that. Fair play to her.”