THE North-East was buzzing last night amid speculation of a possible takeover at Newcastle United - and the potential for a dramatic return to St James' Park by former boss Kevin Keegan.

Two consortiums were reported to be interested in the club yesterday morning - pushing the club's value up from £65m to £75.6m.

And last night, millionaire Sir John Hall confirmed that he had been approached about selling his stake in the club.

In a statement to the stock market, the former chairman and businessman revealed that an unnamed party had expressed an interest in buying the 28.5 per cent stake held by his Wynyard business.

According to reports, one consortium is being led by a "cash-rich British entrepreneur".

The entrepreneur wants Magpies legend Keegan to return to the club to play a senior role in the black and whites' bid to bring trophies back to St James' Park.

Keegan left Tyneside in January 1997 after a five-year rollercoaster ride that saw the club rise from near extinction to just miss out on the Premier League title.

The previous season, the club had infamously blown a 12-point lead at the top - with Manchester United pipping the Magpies for the title.

Yesterday's announcement followed an 18 per cent spike in the share price as investors speculated that it could follow Premiership rival Manchester United in being taken over.

The rise in Newcastle shares, to their highest level for more than four years, meant the club added more than £11m to its value in 24 hours.

Sir John - who took control of Newcastle in 1991 and is its life president - revealed the approach in response to press reports of the two groups eyeing his stake.

One report said it believed a Malaysian-based group was also keen on developing existing plans for a casino and leisure complex at St James' Park.

Sir John was instrumental in the hush-hush deal that brought Keegan back to Newcastle as manager in 1992.

It is likely that any takeover deal will need the blessing of current chairman Freddy Shepherd, who owns 27 per cent of Newcastle and could buy more shares to push him towards the 29.9 per cent limit before he would need to make a mandatory offer for the whole club.

The Halls and the Shepherds own more than 60 per cent of the shares, so an agreement from either party would be necessary to launch a serious takeover bid.

Sir John and his family remain the club's biggest shareholder, with Douglas Hall's Cameron Hall company owning 12.6 per cent, in addition to his father's holding.

Cameron Hall's latest published accounts, for the year ending November 2003, show a loss of £2.8m.

The takeover speculation is a distraction for Newcastle, who play Deportiva La Coruna in the first leg of the Intertoto Cup semi-final in Spain tomorrow night.

The move comes just two months after Manchester United was taken off the stock exchange by US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer in a £790m deal.

Former Newcastle United and Manchester City defender Ray Ranson is also making a second attempt to buy into Aston Villa after a £30m offer from a consortium he was part of was rejected by chairman Doug Ellis 14 months ago.