The would-be owners of Newcastle United are plotting 'massive investment' into the club - according to reports in French media.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund have reportedly lodged a bid for Warner Music Group.
Here are your top Newcastle United stories for May 7.
L'Equipe takeover story
Newcastle United’s potential takeover continues to make waves – and headlines – overseas.
The latest piece in French sporting newspaper L’Equipe takes the temperature with agents in France and says they’re predicting big things at St James’ Park in the next few months – with new owners looking for “a coach, sporting director and Academy director” as part of “massive investment”.
One agent quoted said that Newcastle were being viewed as “potentially the new Man City” by many and were looking to June or July to kick off negotiations with new players and potentially new managers.
PiF 'bid' for Warner Music Group
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund have reportedly lodged a bid for Warner Music Group in addition to their attempt to complete a takeover at Newcastle United.
The Magpies' would-be owners are playing a waiting game, with the Premier League's owner's and director's test still understood to be ongoing.
The PiF are believed to be bankrolling 80% of the bid to takeover at St James' Park in partnership with Ripon financier Amanda Staveley and the Reuben brothers.
But away from the proposed deal on Tyneside, the PiF have also been active with the completion of a $500m deal for a stake in Live Nation.
Latest View from Dubai
Here's a snippet from our latest View from Dubai column from Neil Mitchell.
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Geopolitics. Not a word I thought likely to use very often and certainly not one I would ever thought to use in relation to Newcastle United. However, here we are.
Over the last few weeks as the PCP/PiF bid for Newcastle United has been ongoing if you’ve heard me on some of the podcasts I’ve done of late or seen me on Twitter, one of the overriding messages I’ve been trying to get across is to think about the Geopolitics of the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region when you read or hear coverage – both positive and negative – on the proposed Saudi majority takeover.
The history of this divide is complex and goes back a long way. It transcends politics and goes deep into religious schisms and years of tribalism and social discord. It is certainly far too deep to go into here but it all came to a head when in June 2017 Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates and other states severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatari airplanes and ships from utilising their airspace and sea routes along with Saudi Arabia, closing the only land border, effectively cutting Qatar off from the rest of the Gulf region.
What has existed since is effectively a Gulf cold war; the two states engaged in proxy conflict in various parts of the MENA region and a very active media and electronic based propaganda campaign of information and disinformation that works on many levels.
Being immersed in the region gives you a very acute awareness of this and it’s not unusual to question news stories, certainly not to take them always at face value or become very aware of how a story is presented depending on the point of view or agenda of the outlet.
Put simply, you aren’t likely to find a good news story about Saudi Arabia on the Qatari Al Jazeera News Network, the parent company of BeIn Sports, and vice versa for the Saudi networks. Which, for some, explains a lot.
Project Restart latest
Premier League clubs will not be holding a formal vote on Project Restart proposals at a Monday’s scheduled meeting.
A number of proposals are being considered for the potential restart of the 2019/20 season, with the aim of playing matches from June at neutral venues.
However, a number of clubs are against the idea of playing at neutral grounds and believe that relegation should be scrapped for this season if they are forced to do so.
But in a report on Wednesday night, it was claimed the Premier League's bottom three - Norwich City, Aston Villa and Bournemouth - have been warned that relegation could be imposed on them if they object to Project Restart plans.
Carver interview
Former Newcastle United head coach John Carver insists he can walk with his head held high after fulfilling his lifetime ambition of managing the team he supported as a kid.
The Geordie coach endured some stick from critics during the club's turbulent 2014/15 season but amid a chronic injury crisis and with no money spent in January 2015 after Alan Pardew had left United, Carver and his coaching staff avoided the drop on the final day of the season.
Some will point out that Newcastle were in a comfortable position when Pardew left but that was before a long injury list developed that included Steven Taylor, Cheick Tiote, Papiss Cisse and Tim Krul while players such as Davide Santon and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa were sold.
As we reach the five-year milestone since West Ham were beaten, Carver has had plenty of time to reflect on a tough chapter at the club.
Rondon on Magpies' memories
Salomon Rondon may have only been on Tyneside for one season but in that short spell did enough to be remembered fondly by Newcastle United fans.
The forward took to social media to reminisce about his final month at Newcastle, and the reaction from fans just goes to show how highly he's thought of.
Agent on Lazaro's future
The agent of Valentino Lazaro insists the winger's future with Newcastle United is yet to be decided.
The Austrian international joined on loan in January from Inter Milan - months after completing a move to Serie A from Hertha Berlin.
Lazaro endured a difficult start to life in the Premier League, making his debut in the Magpies' thrashing at the Emirates Stadium in February before being sent off for a late foul on Wilfried Zaha the following week.
However, the winger was restored to the starting eleven in a more attacking role and scored his first United goal in the FA Cup fifth-round victory at West Brom.
Shelvey on England ambition
Jonjo Shelvey does not look out for England squads anymore because he's convinced Gareth Southgate 'thinks my face doesn't fit' - after the Newcastle United midfielder previously got his hopes up of playing at the 2018 World Cup.
The 28-year-old has not played for the Three Lions for nearly four-and-a-half years and his six caps have all come under former manager Roy Hodgson.
Ahead of the World Cup in Russia, Shelvey finished the season strongly - making a conscious effort to improve his discipline - but he was not included in Southgate's 23-man squad.
The playmaker has opened up about that disappointment in an interview with In the Box after selecting team-mates Martin Dubravka, Paul Dummett, Jack Colback and Dwight Gayle in his dream XI from players he has played with over the years.
Bent on summer targets
Newcastle United should target three signings from relegation-threatened Bournemouth in a summer rebuild.
That's the view of pundit Darren Bent, who believes the Magpies should consider domestic options before looking abroad for reinforcements.
The proposed takeover has seen a host of high-profile names linked with a move to St James' Park in recent weeks.
United head coach Steve Bruce has previously spoken of his desire to land four "quality" additions in the next transfer window.
