Newcastle's takeover is a matter of days away.

Those were the quotes doing the rounds last week. Yet, here we are, another week on and still apparently no closer to the deal going through.

Henry Mauriss reportedly entered the chase to buy the club from Mike Ashley but after that initial interest, there has yet to be anything further from the American entrepreneur.

That's despite Saudi Arabia's piracy playing havoc with PIF's attempts to acquire the Magpies.

Though, a resolution of sorts could soon be on the cards.

Premier League chief Richard Masters was grilled by MPs on Tuesday morning, hinting that things could soon be wrapped up.

It would a controversial ending if the deal was approved by the English top-flight - one MP went as far as saying it would be completely humiliating.

And who can blame them after some of the controversies coming out of Saudi in the last few weeks.

Newcastle

Speaking in the midst of Masters' claims early this week, Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards was quick on the scene, issuing a rather bold claim live on talkSPORT.

He told the radio station:

"It's bordering on ludicrous now, quite frankly, nobody has said a thing. There's been little bits and bobs have come out from the buying side but it's all anonymous, and they've created a string of these false deadlines, false hope that it's going to be days away. I don't know how many times I've read that now or heard it, but it got to the point where it's actually starting to damage Newcastle now because we are approaching the end of this season.

"At the moment, Newcastle can't find any recruitment, Steve Bruce doesn't know if he's going to be manager, the players don't know if they're going to be there, there's no idea of what the budget is for players, so you can see they're actually getting damaged now by being stuck in limbo. I've likened it to being stuck in a spider's web they're trying to break free of."

Salman

"I just think we need some sort of statement from somebody, I don't know who it's going to be - it could be Mike Ashley, it could be the Premier League to just say, where are we at what stage of this process because we honestly don't know where they are."

GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says...

This is getting to an incredibly worrying level.

If things aren't sorted soon, then Newcastle could be damaged even further.

The Magpies have had years of being left behind in the transfer window and as Edwards hints at, they could struggle again if this deal isn't passed in the immediate future.

Newcastle may well have some transfer targets in mind but that could all change if PIF walk through the door. For starters, Steve Bruce may not agree with some of the players they have in mind, and secondly, he may not even be there.

It would feel harsh to sack him as soon as Mohammed bin Salman enters the building but they would clearly have visions of their own.

That, in part, is one of the reasons there are such concerns emerging at Newcastle. Nothing, including the takeover, is clear whatsoever.

Things need sorting immediately.