Kuwaiti could take control of the Toon as soon as next week

After failed attempts from Indian entrepreneur Anil Ambani, the Bin Laden family and numerous consortia, it seems that a Kuwaiti named Nasser Al-Kharafi (not ‘Masser’, as The Telegraph seems to believe) will soon drag Mike Ashley away from the bar long enough to thrash out the sale of Newcastle United.

Al-Kharafi, the world’s 48th richest man according to Forbes Magazine, is said to be close to agreeing a £300m price for the Magpies, and after studying the club’s finances could be set for a takeover as soon as next week.

Here’s what The Spoiler has been able to discover thus far about the middle eastern billionaire:

* Al-Kharafi is 64, and inherited most of his £9bn estimated net worth.
* Most of his money was made through a family construction company, but he also heads M.A. Kharafi & Sons, a private conglomerate with hundreds of subsidiaries and affiliates. It’s food division owns the middle eastern franchises for Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, KFC, Wimpy and Krispy Kreme (is this what attracted Ashley?)
* He lives in Kuwait City, and is married with five children.
* He is neither a rotund drunk, nor a ‘cockney’.

Despite insisting on a much higher price a few months ago, it seems Ashley is now willing to accept a lower price for the club he paid around £134m for. Perhaps after losing a reported £1bn in the credit crisis, the much maligned businessman is ready to cut his losses.

But the club deny being in financial trouble

Landsbanki, the bank that West Ham’s Icelandic chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson owns a 40 per cent stake in alongside his son, has been put into receivership and will be taken over by the country’s government.

The news could prove disastrous for West Ham who, having sold players this summer to balance the books, are without a shirt sponsor following the collapse of XL and may be forced to pay Sheffield United in excess of £30 million over the Carlos Tevez affair.

However, an unnamed West Ham board member denied reports that recent developments have left the club in financial danger, telling the BBC:

“This is not affecting West Ham.

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Should Keegan not pack his bags just yet?

You’ve got to hand it to Mike Ashley - he’s not a man to let the chaos at his football club, the disintegration of his reputation or the rising anger of the people of Newcastle (quite a scary looking bunch, judging by the parade of shaven-headed middle-aged men with earrings that Sky Sports News kept interviewing during the week) get in the way of a good time.

According to this morning’s Sun, while Kevin Keegan was last week wondering how he ever managed to get himself tangled up with Dennis Wise, Ashley was in a New York nightclub showing off his money in his now-familiar “have a drink” style. The paper claims he dropped £125,000 on champagne, much of which, judging by the photos, was sprayed in the faces of attractive women. At least Ashley broke with one of his trademark habits and left the Newcastle top in his luggage.

Meanwhile, the papers are also reporting that a very, very rich man, one Anil Ambani, is sniffing around Newcastle again. Mr Ambani (click here if you want to know more about him) is perhaps under the impression that Mr Ashley will be eager to get rid of the Magpies now that the chances of his ever again attending a game without taking a punch to the face seem slim.

Mr Ambani even declared a willingness to consider taking Kevin Keegan back as manager, although if he stumbles across other reports elsewhere in the press today that the three players Keegan wanted to buy were Frank Lampard, Thierry Henry and David Beckham, he might find himself experiencing a sensation rarely felt these days - sympathy with Mr Ashley.

We get the lowdown on the Magpies’ potential new saviour

Despite Newcastle insisting that giving up complete control of Newcastle United would not appeal to Mike Ashley, rumours are rife of a takeover by Mumbai-born businessman named Anil Ambani. Like most of the new school of Premier League owners, Ambani has no history in sport, but his links to the hugely expanding Indian market and reported willingness to sink £150m into the Toon could prove very fruitful.

Here’s what we know about Mr Ambani:

* According to Forbes magazine’s 2008 Billionaire list, Ambani is has a net worth of around $42bn (£21.5bn), making him the sixth richest man in the world, behind filthy rich folksfolks like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. That gives him nearly double the spending power of Roman Abramovich (worth a measly $12bn) and streets ahead of Mike Ashley (whose empire is worth a pitiful £1.4bn).

* In 2003 he beat Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to become MTV’s Youth Icon of the Year. “Young people are the future of our nation and they give me the strength to carry forward the vision of my late father, Dhirubhai Ambani, of making India a successful and super reliant power house,” he gushed at the time.

* His aforementioned father founded conglomerate Reliance Industries back