There is an arms race going on as we speak behind the scenes at Premier League clubs up and down the country. Nearly half of sides in the top-flight are in the market for a new front of shirt sponsor, including Newcastle United, who stand to bank the largest deal of its kind in the club's history.
It certainly promises to be a significant upgrade on the £6.5m-a-year Newcastle earned from a rather one-sided partnership with FUN88, which even part-owner Amanda Staveley admitted earlier this month was a 'very difficult' contract to have inherited from the Ashley era. This was the sort of deal you associate with clubs towards the bottom end of the table, who have come to rely on betting companies as sponsors, but Champions League-chasing Newcastle will be able to negotiate a very different contract this time around.
In fact, Newcastle could be out on their own as the only top-flight club to have a Saudi Arabian front of shirt sponsor as industry sources expect. While this partnership is unlikely to compare with the figures the traditional big six can command, where the starting point is now around £40m-a-year and the ceiling is at the £55m-£60m mark, there is a significant gap between these sides and the next group of clubs.
