Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given believes the Magpies could sign Alexis Sanchez if they get new investors.

Newcastle have been the subject of a takeover for several months now, and the prospect of wealthy new owners has some of their supporters a little giddy.

Shay Given, who played over 300 games for Newcastle, believes the North-East club could even sign Alexis Sanchez should they get ambitious new owners.

“If the investors come in and have got endless amounts of money, they could sign [Alexis] Sanchez, for example,” Given told the Daily Star. “It depends who these new owners are.

alexis v brighton

“I’m not saying he’ll go there and they could instead trawl down the bottom part of the league – you just don’t know how much money they’ll have.

“When you look at Sheikh Mansour when he came to Manchester City and signed Robinho. Will these people have that money to spend or will it be a bit more of shopping down the ladder?”

It’s certainly not impossible that Newcastle could sign a star name with their new money. As Given pointed out, Manchester City managed to sign Robinho after they were taken over.

Shay Given of Stoke City
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Shay Given of Stoke City in action during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Stoke City at Selhurst Park on September 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

However, Arsenal would have to ask serious questions if they lost one of their best players to Newcastle. Newcastle are struggling to re-establish themselves in the Premier League after being promoted from the Championship last season.

Alexis is out of contract in the summer and will be looking to join a club with a genuine chance of winning major honours. Manchester City would be his preferred destination, but there have also been links to Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Alexis has four goals and two assists for Arsenal this season.