Newcastle could be sold by the end of the year with two "serious contenders" battling to buy the club.

Owner Mike Ashley is understood to be ready to accept £250million for the north-east club, after dropping his original price of £400m.

Investment banker Keith Harris, who is employed by Ashley to broker the sale of Newcastle, has indicated that he believes the St James' Park club could have changed hands by 31 December.

A new owner would be keen to have control by then as that would give them the chance to do business during the transfer window.

Speaking at the FT Sport Industry Summit in London, Harris said: "There have been several serious expressions of interest, and there are now two serious contenders.

"There is no debt at Newcastle, and it remains an iconic football brand. The fact that it is debt-free means that it does not have to pay 10s of millions every year to a bank."

Sports retail billionaire Ashley bought Newcastle in May 2007, but decided to sell up earlier this year in the wake of the supporters' hostile reaction to the departure of manager Kevin Keegan in September.

Interim boss Joe Kinnear recorded his second home win in a week last night, but the 2-0 victory against Aston Villa was overshadowed by an incident involving Joey Barton.

Barton flicked out a hand at Gabriel Agbonlahor, catching him on the nose, in a 20th-minute flashpoint.

Referee Steve Bennett simply spoke to the player, who was later booked for a foul on Luke Young, but the clash was dissected on television to leave the 26-year-old, who has a six-game suspended ban hanging over his head, facing an anxious wait to see if there are repercussions.

Obafemi Martins scored twice after the break to lift Newcastle out of the relegation places in the bottom three - a result that also put Tottenham back to the bottom of the league.

Barton insisted today the furore was just people "making a mountain out of a molehill".

"I thought it was a foul against me, and I had a hold of the ball," he said

"We shook hands after the game and that was it. It was all about nothing.

"Nothing has gone on, people are making a mountain out of a molehill."