The South African consortium interested in buying Newcastle United from Mike Ashley have today tabled a bid of £300 million for the club. Current owner, Ashley has also received an offer from a Nigerian consortium for the club and as much as six other parties are also said to be interested in purchasing the club.

Since lowering his asking price earlier this week to £300 million, Ashley now seems to be getting a lot more interest but how much will he eventually let the club go for. The South African consortium is made up of five people who claim they are keen to bring Kevin Keegan back for a third spell at the club and are willing to offer him a 5% stake in the club as an incentive.

I think it would be fantastic if this deal went through. Obviously we don’t know a great deal about the consortium but already they have made their intentions clear, they want the King back at St James’ Park and that would be enough for most Magpies fans. It is clear that the Newcastle squad is in serious need of investment and maybe now they may able to get this from the South Africans.

Amidst claims of alleged boardroom unrest between Kevin Keegan and club owner Mike Ashley, reports are surfacing that the Tyneside club are ready to splash the cash on another of their major transfer targets…

The Sunday Sun is reporting that Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has targeted Julio Baptista as the ideal man to partner Danny Guthrie in the centre of midfield come the new season. It is being said that Baptista, who has been linked to the Magpies before, is also keen on a move to England - providing that the terms are attractive, and that a deal can be agreed with his club Real Madrid.

Madrid are thought to want something in excess of £12m (€15m) for the Brazilian hitman, whose nickname is “The Beast”.  Baptista had spent a season on loan at Arsenal, and had performed reasonably well. In that regard, although he may not be considered as a “proven” premiership player, he does seem like a good prospect nonetheless.

However, the merengues’ steep asking price may prove to be a hurdle to any deal going through as news from St. James’ Park indicates that manager Keegan may not bid any amount over £7m (€8.8m) The club is also said to be in talks with Liverpool for Argentine left-back Emilio Insua, and are also reportedly prepared to move for Deportivo La Coruna defender Fabricio Coloccini with a £6 bid. The club is also keen to wrap up a deal for French centre-back Sebastien Bassong who has impressed on trial since arriving from Metz last week.

These reports are somewhat substantiated by Keegan’s recent comments that the club will be signing 2-3 players as early as the next two weeks, and may act as a peace offering to the club’s extensive fan base who have grown impatient at the club’s lack of transfer activity.

Ref From Mehzeb Chowdhury - goal.com