Newcastle United have a 'huge period' of commercial growth coming if the Magpies build on a remarkable campaign.
That is according to Ian Flanagan, the CEO of Munster Rugby, who previously served as Leicester City's commercial director. Flanagan is well-placed to comment given how the Irishman was at Leicester when the Foxes qualified for the Champions League, themselves, in 2016. Newcastle are the only other side who have managed to upset the elite and finish in the top four in the last 17 years.
To say that Newcastle are ahead of schedule is an understatement and the club's off the field operations are still catching up in a bid to boost revenues to enable Eddie Howe to spend more in line with Financial Fair Play regulations. Peter Silverstone has vowed that Newcastle will be in a 'better place' next year, but the club's chief commercial officer acknowledged his 'tiny' team have 'a lot' of work to do yet.
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Newcastle did announce a new front of shirt sponsorship deal with Sela earlier this month, though, which was the biggest deal of its kind in the club's history, and Flanagan has predicted that more will follow.
"Everyone would have looked at that Sela deal and it's only natural that the owners will look to use their contacts to introduce companies that would not otherwise be in that space," he told ChronicleLive. "Most ownership groups these days are introducing friendly companies and putting their club in that space.
"If Newcastle continue the progress that they have shown this season, if they begin to look like they will consolidate and become part of an expanded and changed top six, if it looks like Champions League football might regularly be on the horizon, there is a huge period of commercial growth coming for Newcastle."
