Ben Jacobs has dropped an inside claim on the potential takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.
Writing in a Twitter thread on Friday's High Court ruling (via NUFC) and its relevance to the takeover attempt, the journalist has claimed: "PIF sources tell me legal separation evidence was facilitated by royal decree. Unclear what validity this holds in the UK if (as EPL believe) gov. can control courts & Supreme Judicial Council of Saudi Arabia has members appointed by King Salman. It's complicated."
What does this mean for the potential Newcastle takeover?
One of the main arguments in the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test (ODT) is whether or not the KSA's Public Investment Fund (PIF) are a separate entity from the Gulf country's own government, which could significantly influence whether or not their original deal with Mike Ashley can be revived.
As Jacobs has explained, PIF believe that they have given evidence to show that they are a separate entity, but this was facilitated by royal decree, thus questioning the influence that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) may have had in this.
MBS and PIF are part of the consortium along with Amanda Staveley and the Reuben brothers looking to buy the St. James' Park faithful, and so the case of legal separation is certainly a complicated one as Jacobs points out.
Nonetheless, PIF are not back on the table as of yet following the dragging on of the saga over the summer, and it looks as if matters may only become more clear toward the end of the 2020/21 term, with Steve Bruce's team at serious risk of seeing themselves relegated from the top flight down to the EFL Championship.