Steve Bruce asked about Newcastle United takeover talk and the Longstaffs' contracts

Newcastle United head coach Steve Bruce was asked about takeover talk and the Longstaffs' contract situation at his pre-match press conference

Steve Bruce has no update on takeover talk at Newcastle United- but has reiterated his hope that the Magpies can get the Longstaff brothers tied down to new contracts.

Amanda Staveley's return to the scene grabbed headlines earlier this month after the 46-year-old's desire to broker a takeover with the help of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the Reuben Brothers leaked out.

ChronicleLive understands that as far back as April, PCP Capital Partners were seeing how things developed at Newcastle 'over the course of the next few months'.

Although they failed with their previous takeover attempt, in 2017, Staveley and partner Mehrdad Ghodoussi's have kept a close eye on events on Tyneside since then and the 'great admiration' the pair have for the club and fans is at the heart of their longstanding interest. But there has been no breakthrough.

"No update from me. Nothing as far as I'm concerned," Bruce told reporters at his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Arsenal.

When it comes to contract talks, one of the most pressing issues for Newcastle is sorting out a new deal for Matty Longstaff, who is a free agent in the summer.

The 19-year-old, who has made quite an impression in his breakthrough season, has been free to speak to overseas clubs for six weeks now.

While there are a few months to run on Longstaff's contract, the midfielder's older brother, Sean, is not out of contract until the summer of 2022 but Bruce is still keen to tie the pair down.

"Again, they're ongoing. They keep on ongoing and you're going to keep asking," he added. "As I said many times, I hope we can get the two of them tied up but players these days have their own prerogative too so we have to respect that as well."