NRL: British billionaire eyes Knights

Marwan Koukash, a British billionaire, is keen on buying the Knights. Photo / Getty Images

British billionaire Marwan Koukash is keen on buying the Newcastle NRL club, but whether Knights' fans would welcome another cashed-up owner after the failed experiment with Nathan Tinkler remains to be seen.

After reports linked the Salford Red Devils' Super League owner to the Knights on Wednesday, the 55-year-old Koukash took to Twitter to say he had been involved in discussions about extending his portfolio to the NRL.

"I would confirm that there has been some contact with an NRL team but it is very early days, my absolute focus remains on the Red Devils," he wrote.

But Knights Members Club chairman Nick Dan, whose organisation holds a 20 per cent stake in Newcastle and ensured safeguards such as the $10 million bank guarantee were in place when Tinkler took over in 2011, said it was likely to be a case of once bitten twice shy for Knights' fans.

"I think they would be very, very apprehensive after the failed experiment from the past few years," Dan told AAP.

"There are much more ownership benefits in the community model for the fans and for Newcastle and it makes for a much stronger business.

"Hopefully, these reports will spur more people on to becoming members of the club."

The NRL said it would be open to talks with Koukash.

"We have invested heavily in transferring control of the Knights' ownership and now our focus is on bedding down the business," a spokesman said.

"The NRL has indicated that, at some point in the future, we will entertain a sale to a long-term owner.

"At that time, we will need to be satisfied that any new ownership brings all the right values for the club, the community and the game."

Koukash, who is the biggest racehorse owner in Britain, bought and rescued Salford from financial strife in 2013 and is keen to do the same with the Knights following fellow billionaire Nathan Tinkler's exit in May.

The NRL took over ownership of the Knights in June after the end of Tinkler's ill-fated reign.

The game's governing body owns 80 per cent of the club under the new model.

Koukash has poured plenty of money into Salford, making no secret of his desire to make them the Super League's leading club with several big-name signings including Adrian Morley, Gareth Hock and Kevin Locke.

In talking about Koukash's possible involvement with the Knights on his Triple M radio program, Newcastle premiership winner Matthew Johns posed the question all rugby league fans are likely to ponder about the Palestinian refugee, whose net worth is estimated at up to $3 billion.

"Dr Koukash is obviously a big NRL fan and his goal is to own an NRL team," Johns said.

"He is absolutely desperate to buy the Newcastle Knights and is about to begin the process to be able to take ownership.

"Now the question is, can the people of Newcastle and the NRL trust another billionaire private owner?"

- AAP