Jordan says 'I got it wrong' on Newcastle takeover but sends warning over Saudi deal

talkSPORT understands the Premier League have sanctioned the £300million deal to buy out Mike Ashley after being assured the Saudi State will not control the Magpies.

The breakthrough came after Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on beIN SPORTS, the Qatari network and official broadcaster of the top-flight in the Middle East, while a £1billion arbitration case was settled.

Once confirmed, Newcastle are set to become one of the richest clubs in world football, backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, with an estimated worth of more than £300bn.

talkSPORT pundit Jordan has admitted he 'got it wrong' about the takeover, having insisted only on Tuesday that there was 'not a cat in hell's chance' of the deal ever going through.

But, while many Newcastle fans will be ecstatic after years of low-level investment under Mike Ashley, ex-Eagles chief Jordan fears for the implications on the transfer market.

"Earlier this week I said it was deader than a dead thing from dead land, so I look completely wrong, and I am wrong," he admitted on talkSPORT.

"I didn't envisage that the Saudis were still there. I didn't see this news coming out of left field, this piracy issue was the key component in why I thought it would never be done. I missed the memo on that and it's back on, it is where it is now.

"For all the Newcastle fans who want to say, 'ner-nicky-ner-ner', yep, I got it wrong.

"Some people will say it's a bad day for football," he added. "And others, specifically Newcastle fans, will say it's a great day. In the same way it was a great day for Man City, Chelsea and PSG.

"The reason why I say it's not a great day for football is because it brings in a new situation where hyper-inflation will come to pass.

"Newcastle will come in with owners who have £320bn. Now they come in with a business in relatively decent nick because Ashley hasn't run it at a loss for years.

"They've got three years now when they can smash the granny out of the transfer market without any implications over financial fair play."

Questions have also been raised about Saudi Arabia's record on human rights, with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman chairman of the PIF.

Amnesty UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement: "Instead of allowing those implicated in serious human rights violations to walk into English football simply because they have deep pockets, we've urged the Premier League to change their owners' and directors' test to address human rights issues.

"Ever since this deal was first talked about we said it represented a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football.

"Saudi ownership of St James' Park was always as much about image management for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and his government as it was about football.

"Under Mohammed Bin Salman, the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia remains dire - with government critics, women's rights campaigners, Shia activists and human defenders still being harassed and jailed, often after blatantly unfair trials."

However, Jordan insists the 'morality ship has sailed' in the Premier League - and Newcastle won't be the only club with questionable owners.

He added: "If you're talking about morality, the Premier League will have an answer, if they want to go down the morality clause. They were never going to go down that clause, because that ship has already sailed.

"There are arguments about the reasons why other club owners are in place. So you can't run that argument against Newcastle.

"What does it mean? It means there's more pressure on other sides. The likes of Arsenal will have to look over their shoulder at another potential rival."