Just weeks after the club severed ties with Nathan Tinkler's Hunter Sports Group, another self-made millionaire with a penchant for horses and football clubs is reportedly interested in taking over the Knights.

Koukash owns the Salford Red Devils, saving the Super League club from financial ruin last year. The eccentric Englishman's net worth is estimated to be as much as $3 billion and he has entered horses in the Melbourne Cup.

However, Quayle, who has been engaged by the ARL Commission to help Newcastle through their transitional ownership period, warned about the perils of private ownership when the right corporate structures are not in place.

"Here it is again, someone who puts his hand up," Quayle said when told of Koukash's supposed interest.

"Tell him to go to the league [NRL] and give them a non-refundable cheque of $100 million. Then the league might talk to him.

"You can't again be in a position of someone just being interested, that just doesn't work at all. That's the sad part about it, so many people want to be part of a sporting team. You have to understand the enormous cost in running a football team these days. We're talking in excess of $20 million a year. It's tough stuff and you need to make sure they are there long term, not short term.

"I certainly wouldn't be [in favour] of talking to anyone until the structure is right."

Koukash last night admitted he had been in discussion with an NRL team, but added that talks were at a very early stage.

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 — Marwan Koukash (@drmarwanK) July 16, 2014

Premiership-winning Knights pivot Matthew Johns sparked the Koukash ownership speculation on Wednesday.

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

"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?"

The NRL has an 80 per cent stake of the club; the Members Club owns the remaining share. The governing body said there had been no contact with Dr Koukash regarding Knights ownership.

“We have invested heavily in transferring control of the Knights ownership and now our focus is on bedding down the business,” the 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.”

Quayle, mooted as a potential Newcastle chairman, said private ownership of sporting teams could be successful, but poor planning meant it often wasn't.

"We've seen in sport, nationally and internationally, that much of it hasn't worked," he said.

"That's the disappointment of the Hunter Sports Group. Nathan is from the area, he's passionate about the Knights. But again, I don't believe the structure was right for it to work. Before you entertain anything like that again, the structure needs to be right, no matter who is running it. If it's not long term, you fail every couple of years, that's the nature of sport."

Any moves to sell the Knights will be met with scepticism from Novacastrians after Tinkler's controversial tenure. Payments to players were, at times, late, while super coach Wayne Bennett opted not to see out the remaining year of his HSG contract after the team performed below expectations.