Newcastle United are the latest Premiership club to be the subject of a takeover bid after they revealed today that have been approached by a consortium backed by Polygon named St James' Park Group Limited.

The news comes after Magpies chairman Freddy Shepherd challenged the Jersey-based Belgravia Group and US hedge fund Polygon - who have been repeatedly linked with moves for the club - to make their moves public.

Shepherd used yesterday's brief annual general meeting in London to confirm talks with Belgravia are ongoing and reveal that Polygon, who were last week reported to have launched a successful takeover in conjunction with the United Bank of Switzerland, have requested access to the company's books.

A statement from Newcastle United PLC this afternoon confirmed: "The board wish to reiterate that they have not accepted any proposals for the company from any party, nor is any due diligence being conducted on the company.

"Therefore there can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer would be made."