Ben Jacobs has dropped a behind-the-scenes claim on the potential takeover of Newcastle United involving the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

Writing as part of a Twitter thread in reaction to the emails between the Premier League and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that showed how close the deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA group was, the journalist and regular takeover commenter tweeted:

"Can also reveal prior to withdrawing, & in mid-June, club & consortium considered releasing a statement putting pressure on EPL to conclude Test. They spoke openly about this tactic, only to instead withdraw in July. Very possible DCMS were aware of this potential statement, too."

Newcastle takeover talk looming again

As was very much the case in the summer, when the emails were said to be exchanged before the KSA's Public Investment Fund (PIF) eventually decided to withdraw their bid, the talk of a potential takeover of the St. James' Park faithful has come roaring right back in recent days.

Jacobs' claim from within the club seems to supply more evidence of just how desperate both the Magpies and the consortium were to get this done, given that they were willing to try anything to heap pressure on those making the final call.

Considering how close it was to being pushed through, it is very possible that the takeover will be revisited come the end of the 2020/21 term, when the fate of the North East club is sealed in terms of whether they manage to avoid being relegated from the top flight down to the EFL Championship.

Nonetheless, a path would have to be cleared for PIF to come back to the table, and the Premier League would surely have to hurry their Owners' and Directors' Test (ODT) given the growing impatience, with the results holding the key over whether the deal can be revived or not.

In other news, find out what revelation Craig Hope has dropped on the potential new owners here!