It’s been a huge week at Newcastle with the club’s reported takeover being called off.

Rumours of the Magpies being bought out by a Saudi Arabian group have been circulating for months, and while those murmurs can now be put to bed, reports of a potential takeover still circulate.

Indeed, Henry Mauriss has been linked with buying the club in recent days, and Chris Waugh claims he’s not the only interested party.

What’s been said then?

The Athletic journalist was speaking about Mauriss on the latest edition of the Pod on the Tyne podcast, and the reporter stated that while he doesn’t know that much about him, he is aware of other interested brokers.

“Henry Mauriss, I have tried to make contact, I haven’t been able to verify the other reports out there, but nor have I been able to reject them. He remains a mystery figure in many ways.” Waugh said (Pod on the Tyne 31/6/20 25:00).

“There are other groups mentioned, and I know of other brokers trying to reach out to people in the north-east, and trying to say ‘we’re trying to put together this bid’ or ‘we’ve got these people interested’ one of which is US-based. But until it gets to the point where they’re at the owners and directors test, it’s hard to say it at that stage.”

Glimmer of hope

The podcast is a great in-depth look at why Newcastle’s deal with Amanda Staveley and the Saudis fell apart, but one very interesting point they make throughout is that it wasn’t about becoming the richest club in the country or being backed by a billionaire group, it’s about getting rid of Mike Ashley.

Ashley has been public enemy number one on Tyneside for over a decade now, and the fact that Waugh knows of other brokers that are trying to sort out a deal provides just a little bit of hope that the club won’t be stuck with him for much longer.

Of course, reaching a deal and passing all of the Premier League’s tests remains a hurdle, as we know all too well after the events of this week, but the fact that there are still potentially deals on the table, even if they’re not as lucrative as what was being offered by the Saudis, is a reason for optimism.