Mark Douglas has relayed what one of the lawyers who will be fighting the Premier League in a court case has previously said about the proposed takeover of Newcastle United.

Nick de Marco QC and Shaheed Fatima QC are acting on behalf of the Tyneside club and Mike Ashley (instructed by Dentons) in a dispute against the top flight and it chief executive Richard Masters about the £300m takeover bid made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian (KSA) group, according to Blackstone Chambers.

Speaking on the prospective deal between Ashley and the Saudi-led consortium back in May, as per a tweet by Douglas, de Marco said:

"Unless there is a clear and obvious link between an individual and an offence and that individual has been convicted in some court of law or tribunal, then it’s very difficult to see how they could fail the test.”

"At this stage, given what’s in the public domain, I can’t see an obvious route for turning it down even though a lot of people may want that to happen.”

Indeed, de Marco is highly regarded among the top sports lawyers available in the country as he has been branded as "the Lionel Messi of sport law," according to Price Of Football.

His words a few months ago may bring some good news to members of the Toon Army, as de Marco seemed confident that the deal would go through and, judging by his statement, would be able to argue against England's highest division and Masters himself over why the takeover was rejected by the EPL.

It is not yet known approximately how long the court case would be expected to take, but it may give some hope to fans at St. James' Park that they will see a takeover happen in the northeast.

However, de Marco and indeed Fatima will both have to win the case first against the Premier League, which may not be so easy.

Geordies, do you think you can win the case? Comment below with your views!