Newcastle Owner (for now) Mike Ashley has hired London-based company Seymour Pierce (who’s chairman is Keith Harris, the same man who brokered the 2003 sale of Chelsea to Russian Roman Abramovich) to handle the sale of the Toon.

After Ashley’s much publicized acknowledgment that it was time to sell the club after the fans’ protest of the handling of Toon legend Kevin Keegan, the hiring of Seymour Pierce (who’s also been involved in the sales of Aston Villa to Randy Lerner and Manchester City to Thaskin Shinawatra) is seemingly a step in the right direction after Ashley’s effort to sell the club on his own haven’t gone so well.

A Newcastle statement said: “The board of Newcastle United can confirm it has appointed the London-based investment bank Seymour Pierce to act on the potential sale of the club.  All matters relating to the sale of the club, including inquiries from interested parties, should go through Seymour Pierce.”