The would-be owners of Newcastle United remain confident of passing the necessary Premier League checks for a takeover to be approved.
Elsewhere, eagle-eyed United supporters have been quick to spot a notable new follower of the club on social media.
Here are your top Newcastle United stories for April 25:
NUFC notebook
The Amanda Staveley-led consortium on the brink of clinching a buy out of Mike Ashley remain confident that the Premier League will finish the Owners and Directors checks in the coming days and allow the takeover to go through, despite concerns over piracy and human rights that have been raised with top flight authorities.
The group are understood to be “in dialogue” with the Premier League and remain confident of passing the checks. The 80% stake to be held by the Saudi Public Investment Fund has created a huge storm but the group are pressing on with plans.
It’s understood approaches are being made to people to ascertain whether they’d be interested in working for a new Newcastle regime. And one London PR consultancy with experience of “working with blue chip organisations on campaigns with strong or contentious political dimensions” are pitching for work with the new United regime in a sign that they may be preparing to push back when the takeover gets the green light.
The Premier League are maintaining a “no comment” stance but will look to Government guidance on the political dimension of the takeover.
A letter this week to the top flight authorities from the Fair/Square human rights group set out reasons for the takeover to be blocked and there have been interventions from a number of political bodies, as well as BeIN Sports. The Premier League are understood to be ready to raise that issue.
But the group behind the bid believe that they are complying with the regulations and an announcement that they have passed the checks could come soon. That would set in motion announcements of their future plans.
NUST survey
The Newcastle United Supporters Trust has thrown its weight behind the potential takeover of the club after publishing a survey of members which showed overwhelming support for the buy out.
A Trust survey has found 96.7% of their members are in favour of the proposed takeover by Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners, along with the Reuben Brothers and the Saudi Arabian PiF.
As concerns are lodged with the Premier League from human rights organisations, Amnesty International and BeIN Sports, the NUST have published the results of a wide-ranging survey which saw 3,397 fans answer.
Notable Twitter follow
In these days of waiting for concrete developments on the Newcastle United takeover, social media signs are sure to get fans talking.
The £300million deal is edging closer and it will see the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PiF) take an 80% stake in the club.
And a new follow from a prominent figure in Saudi Arabia has certainly provided some food for thought on another Saturday without football.
Keys fires another takeover warning
BeIN SPORTS presenter Richard Keys has once again waded into the Newcastle United takeover debate.
The former Sky Sports anchorman and Coventry City supporter riles Toon fans last week with his comments about Saudi Arabian investment, wishing that it was another - and not Newcastle - poised to receive an incredible cash injection.
And now he has described the takeover, expected to be completed in the coming days, as an area that new Premier League chief executive Gary Hoffman will need to tread carefully around.
Premier League latest
The Premier League are “quickening the pace” and intend to resume the league season where it left off at some stage during the coming weeks.
League officials are set to begin regular meetings with the government and senior medical directors about restarting the competition as soon as possible. The BBC report plans are ramping up.
Prime minister Boris Johnson is said to have been briefed on the meetings and chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty will allow his staff to be involved in the weekly meetings too.
But a return to action will depend on an increase in testing for those involved in the restart and strict social distancing measures between players.
Tension behind Dyer-Bowyer fight
The 'aggression' between Newcastle United team-mates Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer had been building in the days leading up to their infamous fight.
That's the view of Magpies legend Alan Shearer, who believes the bizarre altercation stemmed from a simmering training ground rivalry.
Dyer and Bowyer came to blows on the pitch at St James' Park and were both dismissed during United's heavy defeat to Aston Villa in 2005.
The incident heaped shame on the club and saw the pair suspended for the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United.
Unsurprisingly, the fight featured on BBC Sport's countdown of the "most bonkers" moments in Premier League history, and Shearer recalled his disbelief at watching the scrap unfold in front of his own eyes.
Why Ketsbaia got the 'hump' before infamous celebration
The defining image of Temuri Ketsbaia's spell at Newcastle United is undoubtedly that bizarre celebration at St James' Park.
The former Magpies midfielder bagged an injury-time winner against Bolton Wanderers in 1998 - and proceeded to vent his frustrations on an advertising board.
It was Alan Shearer's knock-down that Ketsbaia was able to turn home, and the United legend was one of those tasked with retrieving the Georgian international's shirt from the crowd.
The number nine was named on the bench with Ketsbaia for the Bolton clash after recovering from a long-term injury, and has relived the unusual episode of as part of the BBC Sport's countdown of the most "bonkers moments" in Premier League history.
