Newcastle land fatal blow to Chelsea in race to land £20m-rated English talent unfortunately they were…
Newcastle have taken the lead in the race to sign Burnley’s highly-rated goalkeeper this summer.
Newcastle have opened talks to sign Burnley goalkeeper and Chelsea target James Trafford this summer. Last week, LondonWorld reported that the English goalkeeper, who was dropped from the England team for the Euros, was on Chelsea’s list.
Since then, Newcastle have jumped ahead to make contact with the goalkeeper, according to a report in The Athletic. The report further claims discussions between Newcastle and Burnley have begun, with the player believed to be valued by Newcastle at between £15-20 million.
Trafford joined Burnley from Manchester City last summer in a deal worth up to £19 million. He made 28 Premier League appearances for the Lancashire club before being replaced by Arijanet Muric for the final 10 games of the 2023-24 season.
The club’s relegation means they will be forced to sell some of the players they invested heavily in, with the goalkeeper high on the list of players who could potentially leave this summer.
Chelsea have Robert Sanchez, who was signed to be a backup to Kepa Arrizabalaga, but his departure to Real Madrid meant there was a window of opportunity for him to establish himself as the number one at the club.
Injuries meant Đorđe Petrović, who arrived later, took that spot, so Chelsea are on the hunt for a goalkeeper, and Trafford was seen as ideal given he was young, talented, and already has Premier League experience.
Newcastle failed to qualify for Europe for next season but will hope their summer transfer business, potentially starting with Trafford, will guide them back to continental football, given Chelsea ended up being the team that denied them European football.
The Magpies have made raising commercial income one of their number-one priorities since the Saudi Public Investment Fund‘s takeover almost three years ago.
Every pound they earn from sponsorship and merchandise sales is another pound they can spend on recruitment under the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
But their income in this department is not entirely autonomous
The Premier League themselves are the single biggest income stream for Newcastle, with TV money and cash from league-wide commercial deals being redistributed to clubs.
And Newcastle will therefore be glad to see the Premier League announce two blockbuster new deals with big-name brands.
The Premier League announced yesterday that it has struck a global sponsorship deal with Guinness, who will become their official beer partner.
The previous day, it was widely reported that the Premier League had renewed its long-running partnership with British bank Barclays.
The two deals are worth £52m and £75m respectively, and Newcastle will see a direct benefit from the deals.
Commercial revenue in the Premier League is split partly on an even basis and partly in accordance with performance, so it’s impossible to say exactly how much Newcastle will bank.
But a good year on the pitch could see them net an eight-figure sum from the deals, as well as from the Premier League’s other existing partnerships.
