AMERICAN billionaire Henry Mauriss has lodged a £350million Newcastle offer in hope the Saudi takeover fails.

Unpopular Toon owner Mike Ashley has been locked in talks for the Saudi-backed consortium led by Amanda Staveley to take the club off his hands.

But amid uncertainty over the sale, Mauriss, CEO of Clear TV Media, a company that provides broadcasting services for areas outside of the home, is prepared to meet Ashley's valuation price.

According to the BBC, the media mogul is "waiting and is prepared to move quickly".

Staveley is reported to have had a £300m offer verbally accepted by the current Newcastle owner in April.

But the Premier League are yet to decide whether to approve the Saudi takeover.

And a current takeover effort by Staveley’s group would have to fail prior to any other bid being considered, having signed and legally agreed to a deal with Ashley.

All the required parties, which include Staveley’s PCP Capital, the Reuben brothers, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, are believed to have received signatures to progress with the bid.

Checks by Premier League officials were expected to last around five weeks, but have since entered their second month.

This is due to queries over alleged connections between the Saudi Arabian government and Premier League games streaming illegally in the region.

Mauriss was this month rumoured to be ready to put his offer on the table, with the reports suggesting he has a team in place ready to seal a deal.

He is believed to be keen on copying the model set by Liverpool's American owners John Henry and Tom Werner after they took the Reds back to the top of world football following their 2010 £360m purchase.

The TV chief and Spurs fan, based in California, wants to emulate their strategy if he takes over at Newcastle.

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