Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Newcastle United midfielder Rob Lee believes his old club may have dodged a bullet in the shape of Bin Zayed International after their latest takeover failure.

Bin Zayed International's recent attempt to buy Derby County from Mel Morris, which was unsuccessful, comes after previous pursuits of Newcastle and Liverpool.

With that now being three football clubs that Sheikh Khaled has unsuccessfully tried to acquire, Lee feels the Magpies may have avoided more ownership drama at St. James' Park.

When asked if Mike Ashley had possibly done the right thing by not selling the Tyneside club to Bin Zayed International in the end, Lee told FFC:

"Possibly. Again, we won't know what's going on behind the scenes. Could be a coincidence, highly unlikely I would've thought. It could be. Mel Morris is in charge of Derby and maybe the same sort of thing [happened]. We'll never know, we'll be guessing forever. We could've dodged a bullet."

Regarding matters on the pitch for Newcastle, it has been a tricky season for the Premier League outfit, who currently sit just above the relegation zone. Steve Bruce's men, however, have been given a huge boost in their battle to avoid the drop, with top scorer Callum Wilson now back in training after recovering from a hamstring injury.