Thirty-eight days after Newcastle United suffered the trauma of relegation, their first-team squad will report back for pre-season training tomorrow. From the outside, it appears that little of substance has changed. Mike Ashley remains the (reluctant) owner, Alan Shearer is still hoping to be appointed manager, no players have been sold and none bought. Finally, however, an end to the impasse is within sight.

What exactly has been happening at St James’ Park?
Very little, apart from season-ticket renewals, job losses and the unveiling of a banana-coloured away kit. Since Ashley’s announcement that he wished to end his disastrous stint in charge of Newcastle at the earliest possible opportunity, activity has largely gravitated towards the London offices of Seymour Pierce, the investment bank charged with handling the sale of the club.

With players on holiday and Shearer on Tyneside awaiting developments and itching to begin a task he is relishing, Keith Harris, Seymour Pierce’s executive chairman, has been gauging interest, seeking financial guarantees, opening Newcastle’s books up to scrutiny and travelling to the Far East and the United States to meet potential investors. That process is now drawing to a close.

So where do we stand now?
The timeline, all being well, is as follows. Harris will receive bids for Newcastle tomorrow. Ashley has stated that he is seeking £100 million for the club (he bought it for £134 million and has since invested another £110 million on reducing debts and running costs), although there are complicated factors, including the continuing legal case between Newcastle and Kevin Keegan, their former manager.

By Thursday or Friday, Harris should be in position to offer Ashley his recommendation. In essence, Ashley will accept the highest bid, although Harris, a football man (and former chairman of the Football League) who has been toiling assiduously on the project, is mindful of the responsibilities of his position (in other words, he wants Newcastle to be left in safe hands). At the time of writing, it looks as if an official announcement on Newcastle’s next owners could be made by the middle of next week.

Who will Ashley’s successor(s) be?
As things stand, only Harris has any inkling. What we do know is that as many as four serious parties have been involved in the bidding, two of which have pulled ahead of the others. Part of Harris’s skill has been to maintain the integrity of the process and to operate in a climate of complete discretion; neither Ashley, Shearer nor other staff members at Seymour Pierce has any knowledge of the bidders’ identity.

The same applied when Ashley initially put the club up for sale last year. It has been a useful rule of thumb that a majority of companies or individuals who have come forward can immediately be discounted as time-wasters or publicity seekers. The exception is a consortium with which Freddy Shepherd, Newcastle’s former chairman, has had an involvement, but it is understood not to be a prominent candidate. Most supporters will be relieved.

Harris has been speaking to an American group and it now seems feasible, if not definite, that Newcastle will become the latest English club with backing from the United States. The Ashley era has demonstrated that you should be careful what you wish for, but surely any new owner would represent an improvement. What Newcastle need is good sense and stability along the lines of Randy Lerner at Aston Villa, or Ellis Short, at Sunderland, both of whom have been content to leave the business in the hands of qualified professionals and/or those with a football pedigree.

What will happen to Shearer?
In his last discussion of note with Derek Llambias, the Newcastle managing director - which took place at the start of last week - Shearer was informed that he was the preferred choice of manager by both leading bidders. That would make sense; while the club’s record goalscorer is unproven in the dugout, off the pitch, over the course of the final eight games of last season, he began restoring sound practices and basic discipline to the training ground.

More fundamentally, he offers a precious link between the club and a group of supporters who, understandably, are verging on disenchantment. Shearer’s appointment would provide Newcastle with goodwill and breathing space, although nothing has been agreed. Relationships would need to be constructed and there is no guarantee that Shearer’s plan for the team’s regeneration, which he submitted to Ashley at the end of the season, would be accepted. Something must give, however, and soon.