The Sunday Telegraph claims that Newcastle received the offer last month from the Jersey-based investment group, who are expected to return with another bid.

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd and Sir John Hall, the club's majority shareholders, are believed to have snubbed the offer because it fell around nine million pounds short of their 100 million pounds valuation of the club.

The English newspaper reports that an executive close to the negotiations hinted that the sale could still happen and they quote him as saying: "Talks are ongoing and there seems to be every chance of a deal being struck."