Mike Ashley waits as Amanda Staveley's reaffirms 'interest' in Newcastle United

Ashley broke off talks with the Dubai-based financier a year ago – and labelled the discussions as a “waste of time”.

However, Ashley has since failed to find a buyer for the club, which was put up for sale in late 2017.

At the time, Staveley called Ashley’s comments “hurtful”.

“The suggestion that we were either wasting time or not serious is absurd,” said Staveley. “It’s hurtful.”

Staveley has told a publication in the United Arab Emirates that her PCP Capital Partners firm is still looking to buy a Premier League club.

“We’re big fans of Newcastle, big fans of the team,” Staveley told The National. “We have no issue with Mr Ashley – that (the “waste of time claim”) is water under the bridge.

“It’s still an interesting club to us – the fans are fantastic – but we’re looking at a lot of clubs.”

Staveley is not understood to have approached Ashley or the lawyers working on finding a buyer in recent months.

And Ashley is not expecting a fresh approach from Staveley, who helped broker Sheikh Mansour’s 2008 takeover of Manchester City.

“We’re sensible people who invest other people’s money,” said Staveley. “We would also put our own capital in, but all football clubs have to be financially stable.”