A journalist for Arab News has dropped a promising inside claim on when the potential takeover of Newcastle United may be completed.

Writing in his latest piece, Frank Kane has claimed that people close to the proposed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group believe the English arbitration court judging the legal dispute between the Tyneside club and the Premier League 'will reach a decision in the summer'.

They also expect the results of the hearing 'to go Ashley's way', and for Newcastle to be majority owned by the KSA's Public Investment Fund (PIF) 'before the start of next season'.

Newcastle takeover hope

It is certainly a big claim that the arbitration case is likely to go in Ashley's favour and that the potential takeover could be completed before the start of the new season. A positive result for the Magpies in the hearing could clear a pathway for the PIF to come back onto the table, which would certainly be a huge step towards getting the original bid back on track.

Nonetheless, everything about the case is all speculation at this moment in time, and Steve Bruce's team will solely be concentrating on finishing off the season strongly before any potential takeover talk can come to light.

In other news, find out what big Joe Willock transfer update has been dropped!