Over the summer, Newcastle United were the subject of a failed takeover attempt by a Saudi-backed consortium.
The group was ready to invest heavily in the Tyneside club, but they pulled their bid at the end of July.
Prior to that, several big profile players were linked with the Magpies. It looks like the English club were also looking to bring in a sporting director to take care of the club’s transfer business.
Lutz Pfannenstiel, who stepped down as Fortuna Düsseldorf’s managing director of sports in May, was one of the candidates keen on taking charge of football at St James’ Park.
Pfannenstiel hinted the delay in the club’s takeover, which eventually didn’t go through, could have been the reason why he didn’t end up at Newcastle.
“The whole thing had dragged on for a long time, so you couldn’t have planned in the medium term. The takeover would have been the basic requirement for more intensive discussions.”
When quizzed about Newcastle’s ambitions, he said: “The Saudis withdrew the offer, so it’s all speculation. You don’t know what sums there were in the room. All of this is speculative.
“However, should it come to the takeover one day, Newcastle will certainly not only want to play in the Premier League. Then they want to play European football, first stalk the big guys and then attack. This is a process that cannot be mastered overnight and not even within a year.”
Pfannenstiel has found a new role after he was appointed as St. Louis City’s new sporting director last month.
