Newcastle's Chris Hughton will get £5m 'Keegan dividend' to spend in January transfer window

Newcastle manager Chris Hughton will be handed his first transfer funds of the season in January.

And that good news for Toon fans coincides with strong suggestions that the club is on the brink of changing ownership at last.

Tyneside businessman Barry Moat is set to have his £80million takeover of the club ratified this week.

But even if that deal falls through, current owner Mike Ashley (right) is ready to loosen the purse strings after the constructive dismissal case with Kevin Keegan (below right) ended up with the former manager being awarded £2million in damages.

Ashley had factored a sum of £8m into his business plan as a possible pay-out to Keegan, who was reportedly claiming £25m.

The word from St James’ Park is that Ashley will now try to bolster Newcastle’s drive for promotion by making a small amount of cash available – thought to be about £5m – to buy a couple of players when the transfer window opens.

Both Ashley and Moat are agreed that strategic team strengthening in January would be a wise move that could produce big dividends at the end of the season.

Hughton had no money to spend in the summer window, but has still managed to guide Newcastle to top spot in the Championship.

He has signed non-contract Danish international Peter Lovenkrands and brought in loan players such as Danny Simpson, Marlon Harewood and Zurab Khizanishvili.

But Ashley knows that with a couple of additional signings, Newcastle could bounce straight back into the Premier League.

Meanwhile, former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd believes the club and the fans are the victims of the dispute between Keegan and Ashley.

Shepherd said: “There are no winners in this case. There are only losers - the club and its fans. Kevin Keegan and Mike Ashley are just passing through – it is the institution of Newcastle United that is damaged by this episode.

“During my time at Newcastle, when a manager left we always managed to sort it out amicably and agree on a settlement.

“And when Ruud Gullit left he agreed to waive all his rights to compensation. Gullit is the most honourable man I have ever met in football.

“Things weren’t going well and he came to me and told me he had lost the fans. He told me he wanted to go quietly and didn’t want a penny paid into his bank account. There aren’t many men of that calibre in the game. He showed he had true class and integrity.”

Newcastle’s former Fairs Cup-winning skipper Bobby Moncur has pleaded with fans to remain united.

Moncur said: “I’m not that bothered about the whole thing right now - I’m more interested in what’s going on with the club and that should be everyone’s priority.

“The feud between the owners and Kevin Keegan is not important, whatever was going to be was going to be.

“It’s important that the club are getting the results on the pitch and everything else is just secondary.”