Newcastle United have hired lawyers in their dispute with the Premier League over the attempted Saudi-led takeover of the club.
Blackstone Chambers said on Monday that two of its barristers, Shaheed Fatima and Nick De Marco, are acting for the club in the matter.
The Magpies released a statement on Wednesday last week claiming the Premier League had rejected a takeover bid which would have seen Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) take an 80 per cent stake in the club.
The statement said: "The club and its owners do not accept that Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and the Premier League have acted appropriately in relation to this matter and will be considering all relevant options available to them."
The league responded the following day, saying it was "surprised and disappointed" by Newcastle's statement and that it had not rejected the takeover bid.
"The Premier League board has, on a number of occasions, given its opinion about which entities it believes would have control over the club should the consortium proceed with the acquisition. That opinion is based on legal advice," a league statement read.
"This means the potential takeover could proceed to the next stage should the relevant entities provide all appropriate information.
"They would then be subject to a suitability assessment by the board. As an alternative, the board has repeatedly offered independent arbitration as a way forward since June.
"It is also incorrect to suggest these decisions were taken by any individual; they were agreed unanimously by all Premier League board members."
On the football pitch, manager Steve Bruce is refusing to get carried away after seeing his Newcastle team launch its new Premier League campaign with an impressive 2-0 victory at West Ham.
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Player ratings for West Ham 0 Newcastle 2
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WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski - 6: Will be disappointed that Wilson got to ball first for Newcastle's opening goal. Good reaction save from Fernandez header in first half Reuters -
Ryan Fredericks - 7: Some good crosses from the right but had his hands full trying to deal with Saint-Maximin. Booked for foul on French attacker. Reuters -
Issa Diop - 6: A tough night trying to deal with both Carroll and Wilson but stuck to his task. AFP -
Angelo Ogbonna - 6: Like his defensive partner Diop, struggled against Newcastle's lively attack. Unlucky to see first-half header hit top of bar with Darlow beaten. Was left for dead by pacy Newcastle substitute Almiron near the end. Reuters -
Aaron Cresswell - 6: Did ok down the left for West Ham but should have done better closing down Hendrick before the Newcastle midfielder fired home the second. Getty -
Tomas Soucek - 6: Can be so dangerous in the air. One first-half header just wide from Fredericks cross. Getty -
Declan Rice - 6: One brilliant ball down the right for Fredericks in first half but his passing radar wasn't its usual accurate self at times. AFP -
Mark Noble - 5: Spotlight was on the midfielder after criticising the club over the sale of Grady Diangana. Game pretty much passed him by and he was substituted midway through the second half. Getty -
Pablo Fornals - 6: Should have done better when his shot hit the bar via a slight deflection. Little influence on proceedings. Hooked after 67 minutes. Getty -
Jarrod Bowen - 5: More involved as first-half went on and West Ham got more in the game but the team needed more from one of their key attacking players. Reuters -
Michail Antonio - 6: Often an isolated figure up front. Good chance in first half which he could only drill weakly at Darlow. Reuters -
SUBS: Andriy Yarmolenko (On for Noble 67') 7: Had a couple of chances after coming on - one deflected wide and one saved by Darlow. Reuters -
Sebastien Haller - (On for Fornals 67') 5: No impact after coming on. Getty -
Felipe Anderson - (On for Bowen 89') NA. Getty -
NEWCASTLE RATINGS: Karl Darlow – 7: First Premier League start for two-and-a-half years in place of injured Dubravka. No chance with two chances that hit the bar in first half, decent stop from substitute Yarmolenko in second. Shutterstock -
Javier Manquillo - 7: Spanish right-back was solid throughout and his deflected cross helped supply Wilson's opener. Getty -
Jamaal Lascelles - 7: Lost possession once in first half that allowed Antonio chance to shoot on goal but otherwise impeccable from Newcastle's big captain. Reuters -
Federico Fernandez - 7: Dealt well with everything West Ham through at him - which wasn't much. First-half header forced reflex save from Fabianksi AP -
Jamal Lewis - 7: Left-back signed from Norwich linked up well with Wilson in first half, setting up two chances for his fellow new boy. Getty -
Isaac Hayden - 7: Early booking didn't faze the midfielder who was a rock in the centre of the park. Getty -
Jeff Hendrick - 8: A debut to remember from the former Burnley man. His header set up Wilson's goal, then produced wonderful finish into the roof of the net to make it 2-0. Reuters -
Jonjo Shelvey - 7: Usual range of quality passing and dangerous crosses from the midfielder. Reuters -
Allan Saint-Maximin - 7: Straight back in the attacking groove for Newcastle. Always dangerous but will have a few bumps and bruises as West Ham looked to bring him down before he hit full flow. PA -
Callum Wilson - 8: Good debut for the striker signed from Bournemouth. Went close three times in first half before finding the net with poacher's finish after break. Willing runner who caused West Ham problems all night. Getty -
Andy Carroll - 8: Could easily have been booked after 10 seconds for flying elbow on Soucek. But the big striker justified manager Bruce's faith with a tireless performance. Lovely bit of skill in first half to bring down ball and see his shot deflected wide. A massive help in his own box from crosses as well. Getty -
SUBS: Joelinton - (On for Saint-Maximin 75') 6: Did alright when he came on but the Brazilian could struggle for regular starts this season. Getty -
Sean Longstaff - (On for Carroll 88') NA. PA -
Migel Almiron - (On for Wilson 85') NA: Good cameo from Paraguayan as he set up Henrick's goal and could have scored one himself. AFP
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Striker Callum Wilson and midfielder Jeff Hendrick both scored at the London Stadium, while fellow debutant Jamal Lewis at left-back also turned in an impressive display.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's League Cup match against Blackburn Rovers, Bruce said: "There's nothing better for anyone than to go away from home and win, especially in the Premier League because we know how difficult it is.
"But it wasn't just the victory which pleased me, it was the way we went about it too with three new faces in the squad who looked as if they'd been here for years, never mind a week, so that pleased me – and all three of them had wonderful debuts, which also helps the situation.
"All in all, we've had a decent start, but we're not going to get too carried away over one result because there's still a long, long way to go."
As for the cup tie at St James' Park, Bruce admitted there will be widespread changes to his team ahead of what will be a hectic season of fixtures.
The competition will be condensed into most of this month – a after the late finish to last season due to the coronavirus lockdown and late start of the new campaign – with the quarter-final line-up set to be thrashed out before October.
Success means the Magpies could play up to seven games before the next international break at the start of October.
Bruce said: "We will still take it seriously. The competition is condensed into seven weeks.
"I have a squad of players. When I look at the strength we've got I still expect to get through.
"The one thing we struggled with last year was playing the games over Christmas and we struggled at the back end after lockdown.
"I will be making changes and looking to get into the next round."
