Newcastle’s owners PIF have reached ‘an agreement in principle’ to buy Inter Milan, according to Seba Inter. 

The lowdown

PIF – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – own 80% of Newcastle United after taking over from Mike Ashley in the autumn.

And they’re apparently intent upon establishing a multi-club ownership model (via The Chronicle).

In addition to Inter, Ligue 1 outfit Olympique de Marseille and a club in Brazil have been mentioned as potential targets.

The Nerazzurri are currently owned by China’s Suning Holdings, whose financial troubles could lead to a sale (via Inside World Football).

The latest

Speaking to Calciomercato.it, via Sport Witness, Seba Inter said that only the ‘last details’ needed to be completed before the deal could go through.

“The negotiation, at the level of agreements, is concluded,” he said.

“There is an agreement in principle; they are making a series of meetings to file the last details.”

The verdict

What repercussions could this possibly have for Newcastle United?

Well, it’s ‘likely’ that PIF’s resources would be divided between each club in their enterprise, potentially limiting the budget available to Eddie Howe’s side.

But could we also see players moved around the various clubs?

Watford owner Gino Pozzo has transferred a vast number of players between the teams he owns, while Manchester City have made use of the City Football Group for loans.

One Inter player Newcastle reportedly like is centre-back Stefan de Vrij. According to TMW, they attempted to sign him in January, and perhaps they’d think it was worth trying again if the Italian side were brought under the same umbrella.

In other news, there’s been another update on Kieran Trippier.