Just when it was thought that this takeover story had come to an end, it is now safe to say that this saga is far from over.

  • The backstory

The Reuben brothers, who were set to take 10% of the club before the deal to buy the club collapsed after the consortium withdrew their offer - announced in a statement to Sky Sports that they would welcome any revival to the deal.

The deal itself had been sat with the Premier League for 17 weeks before it seemingly came to a dramatic conclusion on Thursday when the buyers pull the plug on the £300m takeover.

The consortium, forefronted by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, announced they were withdrawing from the buying process due the Premier League taking too long to make a decision on whether the buyers had passed or failed the Owners and Directors' Test - which has to be passed to acquire a football club in the league.

The delay on a decision was supposedly due to Saudi Arabia's alleged involvement in television piracy network 'beoutQ' which was primarily used to steal footage from Qatar's beIN Sports - who are major investors into the Premier League.

  • Newcastle's fans have taken matters into their own hands

Newcastle fans have been very vocal about their thoughts on the Premier League's lack of decision making, which has supposedly scuppered their chances of a new owner.

A Toon fan launched a petition calling for a public investigation into the Premier League's takeover process, which has now been signed by over 60,000 people.

As well as signing a petition, some sets of the fanbase have hijacked the Premier League's official social media account to blast them for the takeover coming to a premature conclusion.

It looks like the supporters' rallying cry to end Mike Ashley's 13-year reign has inspired the prospective buyers into attempting a revival in talks.

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  • The statement

Martin Cruddace, CEO of the Reuben Brothers' Arena Racing Company, said: "As owners of Gosforth Park and Newcastle Racecourse Arena companies we were very disappointed to learn that the bid to take over Newcastle football club had been withdrawn given our shareholders the Reuben Brothers were to be an integral part of the deal.

"We had many plans for our ventures and sport in the North East. We were planning on creating one of the premier sporting hubs in the UK, undertaking development work that is vital to the region and enjoying valuable synergies with the football club.

"We continue to hope that those exciting plans are not in vain. We would welcome any resurrection of talks and progress with the Premier League and are aware that the Reuben Brothers remain totally supportive of the deal should there be a way forward."

  • All parties now want the deal to be revived 

In addition to the Reuben's wanting a positive outcome from the Premier League, the other two members of the consortium, Amanda Staveley's PCP Capital Partners and the Public Investment Fund have said they are also willing to revive talks.

Current owner Mike Ashley is also said to be fully committed to letting the consortium take the club from his hands.