British financier Amanda Staveley has made a £300m bid for Newcastle United.

The Daily Mail says Staveley's investment fund PCP Capital Partners, which is backed by £28 billion from the Middle East and China, is understood to be in talks with owner Mike Ashley.

A deal may be done by Christmas and Staveley could pump as much as £300m into manager Rafa Benitez's transfer funds.

City sources said PCP — which has previously been linked to a bid for Liverpool — targeted Newcastle because of its strong global following and the opportunity to grow rapidly.

Ashley bought the club for £134m in 2007 and officially put it up for sale earlier this week.