Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has released a statement regarding the club's sale, report the Chronicle.

The club announced on Monday that Mike Ashley was ready to sell the Magpies after 10 years in charge at St James’ Park.

As news broke that Amanda Staveley had signed a non-disclosure agreement form , Ashley’s lawyer Andrew Henderson released a second statement in the space of five days.

The statement, released to Sky Sports, read: “Since Monday, a number of additional parties have come forward which we believe to be credible.

“We are also continuing to engage with a number of parties with whom we had entered into negotiations prior to Monday’s announcement.”

However, Toon boss Rafa Benitez insisted he was focused on nothing but the game against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

The former Real Madrid and Liverpool manager said “I try to concentrate on football.

“And I think that is the best way. People can talk about all of these things that are happening but for us every training session is similar.

“We don’t have any influence from the outside. When we approach each game we are thinking about football. That is the main thing.”