Amanda Staveley is poised to make a Premier League comeback by injecting Middle East investment into Tottenham Hotspur before Christmas.
Having been instrumental alongside her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi in orchestrating the Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund's £305million acquisition of Newcastle, Staveley's association with St James' Park ended on a sour note. Nonetheless, the financier who was recently spotted at Tottenham's game against Brentford, is now engaged in serious discussions to secure a substantial shareholding at Spurs.
The search for new capital at Tottenham follows Joe Lewis' decreased involvement, the one-time dominant shareholder of the club. It's expected that Staveley and Ghodoussi will purchase a portion of Lewis shares, presently managed by a family trust.
Confidential sources have conveyed Staveley's ambitions: "Amanda is serious about being involved with Spurs, and is hoping that an initial purchase can be completed within weeks," reports the Mirror
Staveley, lest we forget, tapped the Middle East for financial muscle resulting in her success with Newcastle. However, following changes at PIF and almost three years holding significant sway in Newcastle's boardroom, the couple stepped back this summer..
Their exit was keenly felt by the Newcastle faithful, who held both in high esteem and were ardent backers of popular manager Eddie Howe. Staveley expressed deep regret over the departure, confessing: "I am devastated. The club has become part of my DNA."
Staveley, having kept her cards close to her chest on transactions earlier this summer, conceded to The Athletic that she's open to opportunities in the football industry beyond Newcastle: "My preference would have been to stay with Newcastle, but life doesn't always work out exactly how you want it to. Nothing is going to replicate that."
"I fell in love with Newcastle, the club and the people and that can't change, but I didn't want to get in Newcastle's way. It's got to be about what's best for Newcastle."
"Mehrdad and I are keen to be hands-on. We're hard-working people, I love to be very busy and to engage and I love football. Very sadly, we have to move on to other projects and that might involve us taking a stake in another club or buying another club and that's difficult. But it's possible."