Ashley wants to sell Newcastle after recent unrest from fans

Newcastle have appointed London-based investment bank Seymour Pierce to handle the sale of the club.

The chairman of Seymour Pierce is Keith Harris, who was involved in selling Chelsea to Roman Abramovich in 2003.

He also advised in the takeovers of Aston Villa by Randy Lerner and Manchester City by Thaksin Shinawatra.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley wants to sell the club after fan protests against him following the exit of Kevin Keegan as the manager of the Magpies.

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.

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"All matters relating to the sale of the club, including inquiries from interested parties, should go through Seymour Pierce.

"The club will be making no further comment at this time."

Newcastle have lost their last three games and are currently second-from-bottom of the Premier League.