A full sale of Newcastle United is reportedly close to being completed as the investment company run by entrepreneur Amanda Staveley has signed a confidentiality agreement with the club.

The Magpies were officially put on the market by owner Mike Ashley earlier this week, more than a decade on from the Sports Direct tycoon handing over £134m to purchase the North-East outfit.

Staveley's appearance at a recent Newcastle game led to suggestions that she would be behind a possible buyout and, according to The Chronicle, United supporters can soon expect new owners in place.

PCP Capital Partners, which is run by Staveley, is said to have entered a period of due diligence of club finances, though talk of £400m being handed over to Ashley appears to be wide of the mark.

Ashley's lawyer Andrew Henderson revealed earlier this week that Newcastle hope to have new owners in place before Christmas, with other interested parties understood to have also stepped forward.