Amidst the recent transfer craze, Martin Hardy of The Times has provided an intriguing and perhaps enormous update regarding our summer spending capacity.
According to the North-East correspondent, we are “set to announce a series of sponsorship deals in the forthcoming weeks,” which will provide a significant boost to our summer budget and raise the club’s turnover, which increased to £250 million in the most recent financial statements.
The article does not disclose the business agreements we have reached, but this is precisely the information we require as we continue to fight the FFP/PSR rules. Increasing revenue streams allows us to invest more money and sell fewer of our great players.
According to Hardy, we stand to receive £37 million from our involvement in the UEFA Champions League. In addition, we will have extra financial flexibility for next year thanks to our lucrative partnerships with Adidas, our official kit manufacturer from 2024–2025, and Sela, our front-of-shirt sponsor.
Considering all of this, one would question if, should the right player become available at the appropriate price, some of our summer budget could be moved forward over the last ten days of the January window.
The majority of our 2024 spending will undoubtedly occur in the summer, when player trading will be a major focus. However, with £400 million already spent since the PIF takeover and FFP impeding our ability to sign players this month, a plethora of new sponsorship agreements will be a welcome boost and something to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks.
