Newcastle United fans' takeover wait goes on but they now know what new normal will look like

Newcastle United supporters are still awaiting the outcome of the Premier League's owners' and directors' test but at least know football is returning

It may have only been 83 days since Allan Saint-Maximin scored a late winner down at St Mary's, but that 1-0 win against Southampton certainly feels a lifetime ago.

Although none of the 3,000 or so Newcastle United supporters present in the away end knew it at the time, there was a greater significance to that victory than the Magpies moving eight points clear of the relegation zone.

That fixture was the black-and-whites' final game before football was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic and it will be some time before it will be safe for supporters to take their seat in a stadium again.

Yet, while the intervening period in lockdown has been fairly uneventful when it comes to 'live' sports news for followers of other clubs, it has been anything but for Newcastle fans.

Indeed, just last month, supporters learnt that a prospective takeover was now in the hands of the Premier League, who have been carrying out their owners' and directors' test.

Never before has a takeover been this close in the Ashley era. Never before has a prospective takeover had such backing - Amanda Staveley, the Reuben Brothers and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Never before has a bid brought with it such moral and ethical issues given the Saudi involvement.

Fans have felt a range of emotions - only heightened by lockdown - and their wait for an outcome from that test is set to continue after further documents came to light claiming to establish a link between Saudi Arabia and pirate pay television broadcaster beoutQ.

The fate of this takeover effectively comes down to whether the allegations the Saudi state have facilitated piracy are grounds to halt the bid and whether these allegations can be linked to owners or directors the consortium have nominated.

This is something the prospective owners will certainly have prepared for given how the Premier League's hard-line stance on piracy is public knowledge.

The Premier League have previously asked the US government to keep Saudi Arabia on a priority watch list because they believed the Kingdom 'remained a centre for piracy' and have clamped down on the sale of illegal streaming devices on a local level, too.

While a number of Premier League employees are dealing with this, virtually, others have been involved in trying to get Project Restart off the ground and the season is now set to resume behind closed doors next month, with all 92 games to be televised.

That prospect seemed unimaginable just a few weeks ago but it is now a reality after players returned to contact training on Thursday.

Things have moved quickly. Just last week, phase one of Project Restart saw Newcastle defenders, midfielders and forwards all arrive at different times and train in small groups with social distancing.

Now, the players are able to take part in possession games and small-sided matches and the scene at training on Thursday showed they felt comfortable with the measures in place.

Indeed, in Steve Bruce's own words, it was a normal day and a normal training session. The players may have had to park three spaces apart, and wear protective snoods as they made their way out onto the training pitches, but they were soon taking part in competitive possession drills and small-sided games.

Martin Dubravka, Paul Dummett and Andy Carroll were all involved, after spells on the sidelines, as was Danny Rose, who Bruce previously spoke to after the defender rightly aired his concerns about the prospect of football returning.

Having diligently carried out their individual programmes in their homes, the players have returned in good condition and, clearly, they are just glad to have some semblance of normality again at the training ground.

On Thursday, during one training game, there were some enthusiastic shouts for the ball; Yoshinori Muto challenged Andy Carroll in the air; and a fine finish from Emil Krafth was greeted with a roar of 'Emil's on fire!'. A day later, Fabian Schar left Isaac Hayden on the floor following a crunching tackle.

In that sense, at least, the new normal will not be so radically different.