Peter Kenyon's bid to stage a takeover of Newcastle United is on the rocks, as he remains £100m short of Mike Ashley's asking price.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive is fronting a consortium which is in talks to buy Newcastle as Ashley prepares to sell the club after eleven years at the helm.
But the Newcastle Chronicle reports that Kenyon has only managed to muster £200m so far, meaning that he is still well short of Ashley's £300m asking price.
Kenyon has been seeking backers for his bid since September and has been working with American financial firm Rockefeller Capital Management.