Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn suggested Ashley could be trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes ... and suddenly spend big.
The Sunday Sun says Newcastle’s hierarchy this week confirmed – in contacting newspapers to deny numerous transfer stories – that the “no capital outlay” referred to in their recent five-year mission statement DOES mean that they will be making no cash signings.
So that puts Toon boss Chris Hughton in a situation with options of loan market and free transfers ... unless he sells.