IS this one of the men closing in on a Newcastle United takeover? American sources suggest that Clark Hunt, a billionaire businessman and sports-team owner based in Dallas, may be interested in becoming the Magpies’ new owner. Hunt, grandson of legendary sports promoter Lamar Hunt, currently owns Major League Soccer team FC Dallas and NFL club Kansas City Chiefs. And confirmation that two US-based investors are in advanced talks aimed at buying Newcastle has fuelled talk of Hunt, through his company, Hunt Sports Group, becoming the Premier League’s latest American owner. Hunt has established links with St James’s Park, not least in the shape of the man he appointed coach of FC Dallas this summer, Schellas Hyndman. Hyndman visited Newcastle for a week in April with his grandson Emerson, a prodigiously-talented then 11-year-old spotted by United’s director of football Dennis Wise during a scouting mission in Dallas. Eyebrows were raised when Hyndman took charge at Dallas, but he enjoys a strong friendship with Hunt, having coached him in college soccer. Also, Dallas’s star striker, Kenny Cooper Jr, is the son of Newcastle’s chief scout in North America, Kenny Cooper Sr, who accompanied the Hyndmans to Tyneside. Emerson Hyndman has also now visited Liverpool, as more English clubs wake up to his potential. Other American sports magnates mentioned in connection with Newcastle are Philip Anschutz, Paul Allen and Mark Cuban. | 
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